- Acumen Powered by Robins Kaplan LLP®
- American Indian Law and Policy
- Antitrust and Trade Regulation
- Appellate Advocacy and Guidance
- Business Litigation
- Civil Rights and Police Misconduct
- Class Action Litigation
- Corporate Governance and Special Situations
- Corporate Restructuring and Bankruptcy
- Domestic and International Arbitration
- Entertainment and Media Litigation
- Health Care Litigation
- Insurance and Catastrophic Loss
- Intellectual Property and Technology Litigation
- Mass Tort Attorneys
- Medical Malpractice Attorneys
- Personal Injury Attorneys
- Telecommunications Litigation and Arbitration
- Wealth Planning, Administration, and Fiduciary Disputes
Acumen Powered by Robins Kaplan LLP®
Ediscovery, Applied Science and Economics, and Litigation Support Solutions
-
June 17, 2024Emily Tremblay Named IP Rising Star by Euromoney in 2024 Women in Business Law Awards
-
June 17, 2024Three Robins Kaplan Partners Named BTI Client Service All-Stars
-
June 13, 2024Brendan Johnson Named South Dakota Trial Lawyer of The Year
-
June 27, 2024Sex Abuse Litigation
-
June 10-11, 20242024 Probate and Trust Law Section Conference
-
June 11, 2024FBA 2024 Federal Practice Seminar
-
June 2024Robins Kaplan Secures Landmark $7.75 Million Verdict in Aerosol Duster Misuse Case
-
June 2024To Seize or Not to Seize: Campus Protests and Police Uses of Force
-
June 2024Communicating Your Estate Plan: A Helpful Tool, Not a Fix-All
-
September 16, 2022Uber Company Systems Compromised by Widespread Cyber Hack
-
September 15, 2022US Averts Rail Workers Strike With Last-Minute Tentative Deal
-
September 14, 2022Hotter-Than-Expected August Inflation Prompts Massive Wall Street Selloff
Find additional firm contact information for press inquiries.
Find resources to help navigate legal and business complexities.
$13 Million Judgment on Behalf of Veteran-Owned Software Developer in Software Copyright Infringement Trial Against the United States Government
August 22, 2023 (unsealed November 30, 2023)
4DD Holdings, LLC v. The United States of America
Robins Kaplan LLP obtained a nearly $13 million judgment on behalf of its client 4DD Holdings, LLC—a veteran-owned developer of complex data federation software —in a complex software copyright infringement lawsuit against the United States resulting from the Government’s breach of a software license agreement. After a two-week trial in the Court of Federal Claims, the Court affirmed that the Government infringed 4DD’s valid copyright when it created tens of thousands of unlicensed copies of 4DD’s proprietary software and awarded damages to 4DD for lost licensing fees. In addition, the Government was ordered to pay $1.1 million in sanctions for destruction of evidence.
The dispute dates to 2013 when the Government selected 4DD’s data federator software called “TETRA Healthcare Federator” to support its multi-billion-dollar health record interoperability project between the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs. As the Court held in its opinion, over the course of the project the Government and its contractor made tens of thousands of unauthorized copies of TETRA in direct violation of 4DD’s license terms. The Court disagreed with the Government’s attempt to avoid liability for certain software copies that were allegedly not fully configured or associated with computer cores, holding that these were not only copies under the Copyright Act, but that they were infringing copies made beyond the scope of the license. The Court also held that the Government failed to prove its affirmative defenses, finding that “the Government fraudulently and materially misrepresented the extent of its copying” thus invalidating a potential release of 4DD’s claim, and finding that 4DD was not equitably estopped from bringing its copyright claim.
This lawsuit has potentially broad implications for companies that license software to the government, including with respect to drafting effective license agreements and ensuring compliance with licensing terms.
Post trial briefing is ongoing.
Related Professionals
Similar Results
If you are interested in having us represent you, you should call us so we can determine whether the matter is one for which we are willing or able to accept professional responsibility. We will not make this determination by e-mail communication. The telephone numbers and addresses for our offices are listed on this page. We reserve the right to decline any representation. We may be required to decline representation if it would create a conflict of interest with our other clients.
By accepting these terms, you are confirming that you have read and understood this important notice.