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
Hmmm … I Guess Two Weeks Notice is Enough
From a Department of Justice press release, November 7, 2008 - WASHINGTON — Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey issued the following statement on the resignation of Assistant Attorney General Thomas O. Barnett of the Antitrust Division: "Tom Barnett has been an effective enforcer of the antitrust laws and a strong advocate for consumers. Under his leadership, the Antitrust Division has increased cartel enforcement to record levels with unprecedented fines and prison sentences, improved the...
Are Apple and IBM Competitors?
Many people knowledgeable about these two companies may be surprised to learn that IBM has persuaded a U.S. District Court judge in New York that indeed, they are competitors. The judge has enjoined Mark Papermaster, a 25-plus year employee of IBM, from working for Apple Computer. While at IBM Mr. Papermaster was a product development executive in the area of blade servers. After Apple engaged in an extensive, year-long interview process it hired Mr. Papermaster as the senior executive for...
Nation Finally Shitty Enough To Make Social Progress
Nation Finally Shitty Enough To Make Social Progress: Although polls going into the final weeks of October showed Sen. Obama in the lead, it remained unclear whether the failing economy, dilapidated housing market, crumbling national infrastructure, health care crisis, energy crisis, and five-year-long disastrous war in Iraq had made the nation crappy enough to rise above 300 years of racial prejudice and make lasting change. "Today the American people have made their voices heard, and they...
Uniform Trade Secret Act Legislation – In Massachusetts, the Sixth Time May Be a Charm
Steve Chow at Burns & Levinson has sent me the legislation attached below, which the Massachusetts Uniform Law Commission, of which he is a member, filed with the Massachusetts House of Representatives on November 5, 2008. This is the sixth attempt since 1995 to get the 1985 Uniform Trade Secret Act (UTSA) enacted in Massachusetts; although there was no opposition, the furthest that a prior attempt progressed was to third reading in the House. The uniform act has been adopted by 45 states...
George Gilder on "The Coming Creativity Boom"
OK, I know that George Gilder is a very controversial guy, and that he lost a lot of money for his investors (and himself) in the late '90s and early 2000s. So, he's a lousy investor. But, that doesn't detract from the fact that he can speak and write about the future of technology in ways that can make your head spin and leave you gasping for breath (and, if you're not very careful, calling your stockbroker to increase your margin account). His article in the November 10, 2008 issue of Forbes...
The FTC and DOJ – "So Sorry, but When it Comes to Sherman Action Section 2 Conduct, We Can’t Agree on What the Law Is, or What it Should Be"
The Federal government has two antitrust enforcement authorities - the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. These two agencies have partially overlapping enforcement authority over civil cases, and they often collaborate in setting antitrust policy. Although the federal courts are the final arbiters of the federal antitrust laws (which are statutory, and therefore originate with Congress), the business community relies heavily on the Justice...
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