Challenge
Versata, an enterprise software solutions company, filed a lawsuit against its biggest competitor, SAP Americas in ERP (enterprise resource planning) technology. Recognizing the complexity of the litigation – a terabyte of data, over 250 invalidity contentions, 10 million lines of code, and an adversary with the deepest litigation team in the industry – Versata engaged UnitedLex for deep technology research and analysis to support attorneys in the litigation proceedings.
Solution
Adopting an innovative approach of ‘unbundling’ the litigation, we managed all technical research:
-
Analyzed over 5 million lines of source code, to identify the three lines that established infringement.
-
Reverse engineered product development life cycle covering a 15-year period to pinpoint every instance of infringement.
-
Analyzed over 250 prior arts cited by SAP to deliver 154 response reports, disproving SAP’s invalidity concern.
-
As a part of the trial team, we collected evidence against testifying experts. Our technical understanding and insights on complex SAP technology proved instrumental in the litigation.
-
UnitedLex analyzed SAP’s financial statement, licensing agreements, favored pricing for
‘sweet spot’ customers and historical average discounts. The damages expert used this to estimate lost profits and reasonable royalties.
Impact
The client was able to drive the case to a successful outcome for less than a third of the amount they would have historically spent on such a case. UnitedLex’s supporting evidence led the jury to conclude infringement of two of Versata’s patents by SAP, awarding a $390 million verdict to Versata. Our approach established the groundwork for a new, more effective and efficient approach to protecting IP and ensuring better litigation outcomes at
Versata.
“For Versata’s most important case in 20 years, we explored a dramatically different approach – letting our counsel focus on what they do best and having UnitedLex lead the technology research. Our approach paid off with a wildly successful outcome.”
– Lance Jones, SVP & General Counsel, Versata Software Inc. –
