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."

DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.

Tags:

US Court of Appeal reinstates $82 million judgment against Ford for trade secrets

Suggested for you

More Stories

Italy Breaks €300 Million Piracy Streaming Ring

People Beg Government to Quickly Resolve Ghana Swimming Association Problems

Man Remanded in Theft of Financial Consultant's Property

Two Men Accused of Defrauding Maize Trader Granted GH¢200K Bail

Panama backs Morocco's plan for Sahara dispute

King Mohammed VI pardons Senegalese fans jailed for AFCON

Discussion