Decision in Viacom v. YouTube: Dog Bites Man (Mark Cuban was wrong)

Post image for Decision in Viacom v. YouTube: Dog Bites Man (Mark Cuban was wrong)

by Lee Gesmer on June 25, 2010

Despite all the hoopla, this week’s copyright decision in Viacom v. YouTube (link on Scribd) was predicatable – a decision in the opposition direction would have been a shocker.  Viacom accused YouTube (owned by Google) of massive copyright infringement.  The court dismissed the case on summary judgment in favor of YouTube. Of course, there is

Continue Reading Decision in Viacom v. YouTube: Dog Bites Man (Mark Cuban was wrong)

Don’t Mess With Texas

May 14, 2010
Thumbnail image for Don’t Mess With Texas

I’ve written before about how generous juries in the federal courts in the Eastern District of Texas (EdTX) are to patent plaintiffs. (link).  After I wrote about this a year ago there was a feeling that this trend might be reversing itself. However, Johnson & Johnson’s $1.6 billion judgment against Abbott and i4i’s $200 million

Read the full article →

Mass Moca Loses to Büchel Under VARA

March 10, 2010
Thumbnail image for Mass Moca Loses to Büchel Under VARA

Nice post title, eh? Mass MoCA is the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art Foundation a contemporary art museum in North Adams, MA. Christoph Büchell is a Swiss “installation artist.” Think very large, very avant-garde. The New York Times describes his work “dense, fraught creations, which compress masses of material and objects into historically charged labyrinthine environments through which viewers walk, climb and crawl.” Wow. Sounds just right for good old, left-leaning western Mass. Not.

Read the full article →

My firm’s Client Advisory on Massachusetts Data Security Regulations, Which Took Effect (at long last) on March 1st

March 3, 2010
Thumbnail image for My firm’s Client Advisory on Massachusetts Data Security Regulations, Which Took Effect (at long last) on March 1st

My partner Joe Laferrera has been incredibly active in connection with the Massachusetts Data Security Regulations, which took effect on March 1, 2010 after multiple delays (initial deadline was January 1, 2009; second deadline May 1, 2009; third deadline January 1, 2010). Among other things, Joe has co-chaired the Boston Bar Association Privacy Committee last

Read the full article →

Judge Young, Bulger/Flemmi and "The Government – Our Government"

February 2, 2010
Thumbnail image for Judge Young, Bulger/Flemmi and "The Government – Our Government"

U.S. Federal District Court Judge William Young has issued a lengthy decision, awarding $2.7 million in damages to the estates of three people murdered by James J. Bulger, Stephen J. Flemmi, and their associates.  Judge Young describes the story as “harrowing,” which may be an understatement. The key defendant in this case is the U.S.

Read the full article →

Defendant Choses a New Trial in Minnesota File Sharing Case

February 1, 2010
Thumbnail image for Defendant Choses a New Trial in Minnesota File Sharing Case

When I wrote about the trial judge’s remittitur order in the Jamie Thomas case last week, I didn’t mention that a legal aspect of remittitur is that the defendant may accept it, or reject it and demand a new trial. I now understand that the defendant in this case has not accepted the judge’s remittitur,

Read the full article →

Judge Young Issues Mea Culpa on Expert Witness Testimony in Patent Case, Orders a Do-Over

January 27, 2010
Thumbnail image for Judge Young Issues Mea Culpa on Expert Witness Testimony in Patent Case, Orders a Do-Over

Massachusetts U.S. District Court William Young has been teaching evidence law for as long as I can recall, even as far back as his pre-federal court days, when he was on the Superior Court bench (Judge Young was appointed to the federal bench in 1985, and had been a Massachusetts Superior Court Judge from 1978

Read the full article →

“$2 Million for Stealing 24 Songs for Personal Use is Simply Shocking” Says Minnesota Federal Judge, Issuing Remittitur Order

January 23, 2010
Thumbnail image for “$2 Million for Stealing 24 Songs for Personal Use is Simply Shocking” Says Minnesota Federal Judge, Issuing Remittitur Order

Out of more than 30,000 cases filed against downloaders by the record companies only two end-user download cases have gone to trial and judgment: the Tenenbaum case in Boston, and the case against Jammie Thomas-Rassett in Minnesota. In the second case, the jury awarded the copyright owners $2 million for downloading (and allegedly distributing) 24

Read the full article →

The Boston Area Technology Sector is a Lot Like Silicon Valley/Santa Clara County …. Not.

January 22, 2010
Thumbnail image for The Boston Area Technology Sector is a Lot Like Silicon Valley/Santa Clara County …. Not.

A table from Branko Gerovac’s website, Empirical Reality compares the technology areas of Massachusetts and Silicon Valley The two areas are far more alike, on the statistical level, than I had realized.

Read the full article →
Page 1 of 40
1
2
3
4
5
...
40