A Houston jury awarded Wellogix $94.4 million for Accenture's misappropriation of trade secrets in software that helped oil and gas companies track and manage costs of drilling wells. The judge cut the award to what Wellogix asked for — $26.2 million in actual damages plus $18.2 million in punies. And today the Fifth Circuit affirmed.
software
Fraud Ruling Stands Despite You Shouldn’t Have Trusted Us Defense
By Barry Barnett on
The old firm used phone lines to help state fish and wildlife agencies issue fishing and hunting licenses. A new outfit said it did the same thing, only better, by employing the Internet.
Hoping to seize the future, the old firm buys the new one for about $1 million. Then it finds out the Internet-using…
“Predictive Coding” in E-Discovery
By Barry Barnett on
Blawgletter gets calls each work day from people who want to sell something. It happens to you, too. When you pick up the phone, you hear dead air for a second or two before a person comes on the line. The "agent" often asks if he can speak with "[your name here]".
The tell-tale lag means…
Fifth Circuit Cuts DMCA Down to Size; “Dongle” in the Software Jungle (Update)
By Barry Barnett on
[See bottom of post for update on the Fifth Circuit's new opinion in the case.]
The software you use at work came from God knows where. Perhaps the Internet. But your copy features something the author didn't intend. Unlike the version the author sells, this one has somehow disabled the security doodad that controls access to…
Start-Up Wins Copyright “Work-for-Hire” Dispute Over Software, Ninth Circuit Holds
By Barry Barnett on
The Ninth Circuit yesterday upheld a judgment that a software writer wrote software as an "employee" of JustMed, Inc., a start-up company that set out to make a "digital audio larynx", rather than as an "independent contractor". The distinction made a difference because federal copyright law deems the works of an employee the property of…