Geri is a member in the Litigation and Intellectual Property Sections in the firm's Boston office. She has represented a diverse client base in all phases of intellectual property litigation in courts throughout the United States, as well as before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. She has successfully litigated, arbitrated, and mediated trademark, trade secret, false advertising, domain name, copyright, and patent disputes and has negotiated numerous settlement and licensing agreements. She has been involved in all aspects of trademark selection and protection and copyright creation, registration, and monitoring.
Geri is also editor of the firm's Copyright & Trademark Matters law blog. She is currently an adjunct faculty member at Northeastern University School of Law, where she teaches trademark law.
In addition to her intellectual property expertise, Geri practiced as a Special Assistant District Attorney while on leave from the firm as part of Mintz Levin's rotation program with the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office. During that time, she prosecuted and tried numerous criminal cases.
Geri has served on the firm's Pro Bono Committee and was awarded the 2000 National Ally of Justice Award for the significant pro bono efforts that she has undertaken on behalf of the Human Rights Campaign and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.
Representative Matters
· Represented a consumer goods manufacturer in an action by an automobile manufacturer over U.S. rights to trademark and Internet domain name.
· Represented a consumer goods retailer in a copyright, trade dress, and trademark infringement action brought by a handbag manufacturer.
· Represented a software company in a trade secret dispute against a camera and digital film processing company regarding rights to digital photo image technology.
· Represented a New England supermarket chain in a trademark dispute in federal court and before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board against a southern food retailer.
· Represented a cable television network in a music and visual arts copyright action brought by an alleged songwriter.
· Represented one of the nation's largest insurers in trademark and copyright enforcement and counseling matters.
· Represented a pro bono client, a national civil rights organization, in all aspects of trademark enforcement and trademark and copyright counseling.
· Represented numerous trademark holders in obtaining, opposing, and canceling trademarks before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
· Advised and represented numerous clients regarding use and misuse of trademarks and copyrighted materials on the Internet, including cybersquatting and arbitrations pursuant to the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy.
· Represented a subsea oil well manufacturer in litigation and arbitration against a competitor for patent infringement.
· Represented a software manufacturer in a patent infringement action involving customer relations management software.
Recent Publications and Presentations
· Quoted in "Bringing Up Baby," Corporate Counsel (April 1, 2012)
· "Anything begins: The application period opens for new top-level domains - Are you ready or weary?," Westlaw Journal (January 31, 2012)
· Co-author, "Your Trademark In (Red) Lights?," Law360 (September 1, 2011)
· Quoted in "What the Coming Sky's-the-Limit Top-Level Domains Could Mean for Trademark Law," National Law Journal (June 23, 2011)
· Featured speaker, "IP Year in Review" (IP Licensing), Boston Bar Association (January 2011)
· "Protecting Your Trademark On Social Networking Sites," BBA IP Litigation Committee Presentation (June 2010)
· "Google's Sale of Trademarks as Search Keywords Deemed Permissible by EU Court," Electronic Commerce & Law Report (March 2010)
· "When Your TM Becomes the Key to Your Competitor's Ad," IP Frontline.com (March 2010)
· Quoted in "As Online Counterfeit Drug Sales Grow, Calls Mount for Federal Action, Advertiser Liability," Electronic Commerce & Law Report (February 2010)
· "Domain Name Disputes: Trouble Ahead, Trouble Behind," BBA IP Litigation Committee Presentation (September 2008)
· "The Effects of Global Priority of Trademark Rights," Massachusetts Law Review (Spring 2007)
· "Review of the Trademark Decisions by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit," American University Law Review (2006)
· "Review of the Trademark Decisions by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit," American University Law Review (2000)
Memberships and Leadership Positions
· International Trademark Association, Member of the Internet Committee (2011-present), former Member of the Famous and Well Known Marks Committee (North America) and leader of State Dilution Law Subcommittee (2009-2011)
· Boston Bar Association, Co-Chair of the Intellectual Property Committee (2009-2011)
· American Bar Association
· Massachusetts Bar Association
· American Intellectual Property Law Association
Geri is admitted to practice in Massachusetts and New York, and before the U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts; U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit; and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit. She received her J.D. from Northeastern School of Law (1997).