In a landmark case for the computer software industry, a company was accused of infringing a competitor’s copyright on several features of a particular computer application program.
In a landmark case for the computer software industry, a company was accused of infringing a competitor’s copyright on several features of a particular computer application program. Counsel for the defendant retained Cornerstone Research to develop damage estimates and to evaluate the plaintiff’s damage models.
The First Circuit found for the defendant, concluding that the allegedly infringing features were not copyrightable.
We supported an interdisciplinary team of experts that included an economics professor, two marketing professors, an accounting professor, and a software industry expert. Working with these experts, we used econometric analysis, market research, marketing surveys, and cost accounting models to estimate the effect of the allegedly infringing features on the computer application’s sales, costs, and profits.
The First Circuit found for the defendant, concluding that the allegedly infringing features were not copyrightable. The plaintiff appealed to the Supreme Court, which upheld the First Circuit’s decision.
