Federal Circuit Court Upholds $391 Million Patent Judgment for Versata Software

Believed to be largest software judgment ever affirmed by Federal Circuit

HOUSTON – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., has affirmed a $391 million patent infringement judgment for Versata Software Inc., which was successfully represented by the Houston complex commercial litigation law firm AZA (or AZA) and co-counsel McKool Smith in a lawsuit against global software company SAP America Inc. and its German-based parent company SAP AG (NYSE:SAP). The judgment is believed to be the largest ever affirmed by the Federal Circuit in a software dispute.

The May 1, 2013, ruling from the Federal Circuit is posted on the court’s website and reported by Bloomberg News.

Austin, Texas-based Versata is a pioneer in front-office enterprise software. The company sued SAP over software used in customized pricing and first won a smaller verdict against SAP in 2009 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The trial judge set aside that verdict and ordered a new trial on damages. Versata then hired AZA to assist as co-counsel for the second trial, and AZA’s team was led by AZA attorneys Demetrios Anaipakos, Amir Alavi and Steven Mitby.

In September 2011, another jury in the Eastern District unanimously awarded Versata $260 million in lost profits and $85 million in reasonable royalties after finding that SAP infringed the Versata patent.

The final judgment of $391 million was affirmed in the Federal Circuit’s ruling in Versata Software Inc. v. SAP America Inc., No. 12-1029, which upheld the trial court ruling in Versata Software Inc., et al. v. SAP America Inc., et al., No. 07-CV-00153.

AZA, or AZA, is a Houston-based law firm that is home to true courtroom lawyers with a formidable track record in complex commercial litigation, including energy, intellectual property, securities fraud, construction and business dispute cases. AZA is recognized by U.S. News & World Report and The Best Lawyers in America as one of the country’s best commercial litigation firms in the 2013 listing of the nation’s leading law firms. National corporate counsel named AZA one of the country’s best in client service among law firms serving the Fortune 1000. AZA has been hired on many occasions by the same companies the firm has prevailed against at trial. Read more at https://azalaw.com.