US appeals court revives $82 million of verdict against Ford in trade secrets case

A U.S. appeals court on Friday revived $82.2 million of a $104.6 million verdict that ​Versata Software won against Ford for breaching a ‌licensing contract and misappropriating trade secrets.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reinstated damages, that a jury in ​Detroit had awarded to Versata in 2022 after finding ​that Ford violated their contract, and sent the ⁠case back for a new trial to determine ​the proper amount of damages for Ford’s trade-secret theft.

U.S. ​District Judge Matthew Leitman had overturned the verdict in 2023.

Spokespeople for Ford and Versata did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Versata, ​based in Austin, Texas, said it licensed its ​automotive software to Ford from 1998 to 2015, helping the automaker’s ‌engineers ⁠and marketing agents collaborate on and design vehicles with “seamless real-time updates” worldwide. It said that Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford began copying its software after growing weary of paying millions of dollars in annual licensing fees.

The jury awarded Versata $82.2 million for breach of contract and $22.4 ​million for misappropriation of trade secrets. Leitman ​overturned the ⁠verdict after finding that Versata had not offered enough evidence to let jurors calculate the damages accurately.

The Federal ⁠Circuit ​said on Friday, however, that ​the jury had calculated the breach-of-contract damages with “reasonable certainty.”

المصدر: MyJoyOnline (GH)