Mass Law Blog
Intellectual property and business litigation, Massachusetts and nationallyWritten by humans
Lee Gesmer’s Mass Law Blog began in 2005, and contains almost 600 posts. The site initially focused on Massachusetts law, but today it follows business and intellectual property law nation-wide. The site is hosted by Gesmer Updegrove LLP, a law firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm represents startup and established companies in the areas of litigation, transactions (including financings, mergers and acquisitions), IP rights, taxation, employment law, standards consortia, business counseling and open source development projects and foundations. You can find a summary of the firm’s services here. To learn how Gesmer Updegrove can help you, contact: Lee Gesmer
Melania Trump’s Speech – Plagiarism or Copyright Infringement?
The press calls Melania Trump’s use of Michelle Obama’s 2008 nomination speech “plagiarism,” but is it also copyright infringement? Could the authors or assignees of Michelle’s speech sue Melania and others for copyright infringement? It's hard to imagine this would ever happen for political and practical reasons (one of which I discuss below). But it’s interesting (fun?) to think about whether a copyright infringement suit against Melania would have legs. In that spirit, consider the...
Kevin Kickstarter Visits His Attorney for an Update on the DMCA Following Capitol Records v. Vimeo
The fictional Kevin Kickstarter last met with his lawyer, Mr. Jaggers, in January 2014. Still pondering Mr. Jaggers advice (following the then-recent Second Circuit’s decision in Viacom v. Youtube), he recently heard of the Second Circuit’s new DMCA ruling in Capitol Records v. Vimeo, and he set up an appointment with Mr. Jaggers to get an update on the law. Before listening in on this fictional conversation, a brief recap: YouPostVid is a small “you post, we host” music video website. Kevin...
The Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act – Eight Years and Trying
Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made. Otto von Bismarck Update: A new noncompete law was finally enacted in 2018. For a detailed discussion of the law see: A New Era In Massachusetts Noncompete Law You could go to sleep for years, Rip van Winkle-like, and not miss much when it comes to keeping up with Massachusetts noncompetition legislation. Bills have been filed every year since 2009 and failed to be enacted into law. These bills have displayed all kinds of...
Both the White House and U.S. Treasury Critical of Noncompetes
Early this month the White House issued a report titled, Non-Compete Agreements: Analysis of the Usage, Potential Issues, and State Responses. The conclusion of this 16 page report is as follows: In some cases, non-compete agreements can play an important role in protecting businesses and promoting innovation. They can also encourage employers to invest in training for their employees. However, as detailed in this report, non-competes can impose substantial costs on workers, consumers, and the...
This site is hosted by Gesmer Updegrove LLP, a technology law firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. You can find a summary of our services here. To learn how GU can help you, contact:
Lee Gesmer