Contact Jeff
Direct: 202.851.4526Main: 202.480.2999Jeff@OandZLaw.comEducation
- J.D. cum laude, Boston College Law School; Executive Editor, Boston College Law Review
- B.A., Williams College
Bar Admissions
- District of Columbia
- Massachusetts
Jeff Gould
Partner
Jeff Gould is a partner at O+Z. Jeff is a nationally recognized litigator with over 20 years of experience, whose practice focuses primarily on complex intellectual property disputes involving copyrights, trademarks, digital media, new technologies, and related commercial matters. Clients regularly call on Jeff for strategic counseling and to develop and pursue litigation to protect their content and brands and other rights.
Billboard magazine has repeatedly named Jeff to its “Top Music Lawyer” list, which honors lawyers on the front lines of the music industry’s legal battles and deals. He has also been selected multiple times as a “Copyright Star” by Managing IP, and multiple times as a “Rising Star” in Business Litigation by Super Lawyers.
Jeff regularly represents all the major record companies and music publishers, as well as leading educational, trade and journal publishers, as plaintiffs in high-profile disputes, from pre-suit investigation through trial and appeal. He played a central role as trial counsel in securing landmark jury verdicts of $1 billion for major record company and music publishers against a large telecommunications company, and over $34 million for educational publishers against a distributor of counterfeit books. Jeff represents the book publishing industry in a class action against the AI company Anthropic, which recently settled for $1.5 billion, on claims regarding Anthropic’s unlicensed downloading of millions of copyrighted books from pirated sources.
Jeff regularly counsels music and publishing clients, as well as trade associations, on strategic and litigation issues, including developing content protection monitoring programs and various issues relating to AI. In these and other cases, Jeff helps clients protect their creative works and brands from infringement, online piracy, counterfeiting, and other fraud and theft. He also counsels clients privately, in many cases, to avoid litigation.
Prior to joining O+Z, Jeff was a Litigation Partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where his practice focused on complex commercial disputes in federal and state courts, and enforcement matters before law enforcement and regulatory bodies. There, he represented numerous Fortune 500 companies in bet-the-company litigation in various industries and in courts throughout the country. Prior to joining Kirkland, Jeff served as a law clerk to Judge Paul J. Barbadoro of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire.
Jeff also maintains an active pro bono practice, including counseling the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance in a series of cases involving land disputes throughout Utah. In addition, Jeff serves as a board member for Equal Justice Under Law, a nonprofit law organization dedicated to achieving equality in the criminal justice system and ending cycles of poverty across the nation.
Prior to law school, Jeff worked as a reporter and wilderness guide. He lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his wife and two children.
Bartz v. Anthropic
We are representing the book publishing industry as Publishers’ Coordinating Counsel in a copyright infringement class action against Anthropic, an artificial intelligence company, asserting claims for Anthropic’s unlicensed downloading from pirated sources of millions of copyrighted books, securing a preliminary settlement of $1.5 billion. (Northern District of California)
Cengage v. Book Dog Books
We obtained a $34.2 million jury verdict, $5 million fee award, and permanent injunction for our clients Cengage, McGraw-Hill, Pearson, and Wiley against a U.S. commercial distributor for willful trademark and copyright infringement arising from the importation and sale of counterfeit books. (Southern District of New York)
Cengage v. Follett
Successfully represented Cengage Learning, McGraw-Hill Global Education, and Pearson in litigation against one of the largest book distributors in the country. (Southern District of New York)
Pearson v. Chegg
We represented Pearson in a copyright infringement litigation against Chegg, a technology company that systematically prepared and sold answer sets to textbook questions. (District of New Jersey)
Sony Music v. Cox
We obtained a landmark $1 billion jury verdict against one of the nation’s largest internet service providers (“ISPs”), Cox Communications, on behalf of Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV, and Warner Chappell. After a three-week trial, the jury found Cox liable for willful contributory and vicarious infringement, for assisting and profiting from its subscribers’ uploading and downloading of copyrighted music through peer-to-peer networks such as Bit-Torrent. The litigation involved over 10,000 copyrights and it was reported as the fifth largest jury verdict in the United States in 2019. While the Fourth Circuit reversed the vicarious liability verdict and remanded for a new trial on damages, it affirmed the jury’s verdict of willful contributory infringement. The Supreme Court granted certiorari on the question of contributory liability, and reversed and remanded. (Eastern District of Virginia; Fourth Circuit; Supreme Court)
UMG v. Bright House Networks
We represented Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony Music Publishing, and Warner Chappell in a copyright infringement litigation against Bright House Networks, an ISP, alleging Bright House assisted its subscribers’ repeated uploading and downloading of copyrighted music through peer-to-peer networks such as Bit-Torrent. The case involved over 7,000 copyrights, and it settled at the start of trial. (Middle District of Florida)
Warner Records v. Altice USA, Inc.
We are representing Warner Music Group, Warner Chappell, Sony Music Entertainment, and Sony Music Publishing in a copyright infringement litigation against Altice USA, Inc., an ISP, alleging Altice assisted and profited from its subscribers’ repeated uploading and downloading of copyrighted music through peer-to-peer networks such as Bit-Torrent. The case involves over 10,000 copyrighted works. (Eastern District of Texas)
Warner Records v. Charter Communications
We represented Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony Music Publishing, and Warner Chappell in a copyright infringement litigation against Charter Communications, an ISP, alleging Charter assisted and profited from its subscribers’ repeated uploading and downloading of copyrighted music through peer-to-peer networks such as Bit-Torrent. The case involved over 10,000 copyrights, and it settled after discovery but prior to trial. (District of Colorado)
- Successfully represented real estate investment trust against private equity fund over termination of $1.1 billion acquisition of hotel portfolio for alleged “material adverse effect;” after expedited litigation seeking specific performance, dispute settled on first day of trial in an amended deal that closed days later. (Southern District of New York Bankruptcy Court)
- Represented investment bank/broker-deal in a series of nationwide cases alleging market manipulation and securities fraud involving “naked short selling,” resulting in numerous dismissals and favorable settlements. (District of Georgia, District of Utah, California, New Jersey)
- Defended television station against injunction motion seeking to block airing of program, resulting in mediation before federal judge and favorable settlement permitting timely airing of show. (District of D.C.)
- Defended energy company and directors and officers in class action alleging securities violations and breach of fiduciary duties in approving $7.9 billion merger, resulting in partial dismissal and favorable settlement. (Maryland)
- Represented leading electric utility company in litigation and sale process arising from $42 billion contested restructuring, resulting in $18.7 billion sale of the company and transfer of shares. (District of Delaware Bankruptcy Court)
- Represented generic pharmaceutical manufacturers in numerous cases nationwide alleging false claims, deceptive trade practices, and fraud related to pharmaceutical pricing. (Illinois, Alabama, Kentucky)
- Represented pharmaceutical company against U.S. Patent & Trademark Office in administrative challenge to patent rules, resulting in injunction blocking implementation of rules. (Eastern District of Virginia)
- Represented home builder in successful offensive suit challenging two insurance companies’ denials of coverage for fiduciary duty claims against directors and officers. (Southern District of Florida Bankruptcy Court)
- Represented individuals and companies on defamation counseling in the face of reputation attacks.
- Successfully tried a contested asylum case on behalf of an Ethiopian refuge. (Immigration Court)
