Software Patent Expert Witness

    Expert witness services and technical analysis for patent litigation and administrative proceedings.

    DisputeSoft provides software patent expert witness services to attorneys and their clients with disputes involving patent infringement claims before federal district courts, the International Trade Commission (ITC), and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Our software patent expert witnesses are  skilled software engineers who thoroughly analyze source code and other protectable elements in a cost-effective manner, allowing litigants to reduce costs while maximizing recovery and minimizing their exposure to damages.

    With nearly 500 software and IT disputes to our credit, our testifying experts deliver independent, objective, and defensible analysis, opinions, and trial testimony in the most complex software patent cases.

    District Court and ITC Software Patent Litigation

    Our experts are experienced in providing analysis of technical issues relating to software during the discovery process and at trial in cases before both federal district courts and the ITC. 

    We produce expert reports and are available to testify in deposition and at trial in software patent cases. 

    We regularly perform a variety of analyses in reaching opinions regarding the validity of a patent and whether the patent claims have been infringed, including: source code review, analyses of patent claims, specifications and file histories, prior art research, claim charting, and development of proposed claim constructions. 

    We also provide testimony concerning inherent disclosure and its meaning to a person skilled in the art, factual analysis of the prosecution history and extrinsic evidence to support claim construction, and testimony regarding the effective dates of prior art references.

    How We Can Help

    Claim-by-Claim Analysis

    We provide detailed, claim-by-claim analysis to establish whether the claims recite patentable subject matter under Section 101 of the Patent Act, whether the patents at issue lack adequate written disclosure under Section 112, and whether the patent claims should be deemed invalid on the grounds of anticipation under Section 102 and obviousness under Section 103.

    We have become very adept at cost-effectively tracing functionality through source code accused of infringing a patent. We also provide technical support and expertise to attorneys and other testifying experts at latter stages in litigation, including analyzing and rebutting opposing expert opinions and preparing software demonstrations, technical presentations and other exhibits for trial.

    We perform source code analysis when source code can be sent to us for review in our own forensic lab, as well as when it is necessary to travel to your offices, or to offices of opposing counsel, to examine the code pursuant to a protective order.

    We appreciate that source code can be among a company’s most valued assets, and have performed many code reviews in a secure environment.

    Inter Partes Review (IPR), Post-Grant Review (PGR), and Covered Business Method Review (CBMR)

    In addition to our patent litigation experience, DisputeSoft also provides expert opinions in support of petitions for review by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) under the provisions of the America Invents Act (AIA). 

    We are available to assist in proceedings for Inter Partes Review (IPR), Post-Grant Review (PGR), and Covered Business Method Review (CBMR). In IPR, PGR and CBMR petitions and in responses to claim amendments proposed by the patent owner during the review process, the arguments of counsel cannot take the place of factually supported objective evidence such as an expert declaration or affidavit. 

    DisputeSoft’s experts are experienced in providing written opinions and deposition testimony on technical issues relating to software. Our experts assist petitioners in construction of the claims at issue under the broadest reasonable interpretation standard, prior art research and analysis of the patent file wrapper and extrinsic evidence. 

    Alternatively, we also provide expert opinions in support of the patent owner’s rebuttal of the arguments made in a IPR, PGR, or CBMR petition.

    Featured Case

    Apple v. HTC

    DisputeSoft assisted HTC in finding evidence to support its contentions of invalidity, non-infringement, and lack of domestic industry.

    SEE THE CASE

    Whether you are a patent owner needing assistance evaluating a competitor’s product for the presence of proprietary technology, or owner of a product accused of infringing a patent, we invite you to contact us as to how we may be of assistance.

    Patent Protection Through Reverse Engineering

    Pioneering technology companies obtain thousands of new patents each year. Continuous monitoring of new competitor products is necessary to protect the massive investment required to develop such intellectual property. Reverse engineering is the process of deconstructing and analyzing a product by its subcomponents, and is one of the most effective methods of determining whether a patent owner’s intellectual property has been incorporated into a competitor’s product. At DisputeSoft, we provide reverse engineering services to assist our clients in their endeavor to continuously monitor developments in their patent landscape by providing them with information they need to determine whether their patents are being infringed.

    Typically, our reverse engineering services include acquiring and disassembling competitor products to examine whether embedded software invades specific client patent claims. We use a variety of tools to assist us in our work, including forensic tools, decompilers, debuggers, packet sniffers, and bus analyzers. We trace source code and map its functions via claim charts to specific patent claims, and then work with clients to determine whether infringement elements are present. Where applicable, we also use less-intrusive methods of discovery, such as reviewing applicable literature and standards, physical inspection, and functional testing. Through reverse engineering, we have examined operating system and controller code in mobile and desktop devices to assess interactions with hardware, communications, security, virtualization, and power management functions. We leverage the results of these investigations to assist our clients to determine the advisability of pursuing patent litigation, as well as to identify the specific patent claims for which litigation may be most effective.

    Experts on Software Patent Infringement

    Josh HelfinSiegel

    Director & Forensic Examiner

    Josh Siegel has substantial experience analyzing copyright, patent, and trade secret cl…

    , , , , , , , , , , ,
    Nick Ferrara

    Nick Ferrara

    Managing Director & Forensic Examiner

    Nick Ferrara has been an integral part of more than 90 cases, spanning numerous commerc…

    , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

    T.J. Wolf

    General Counsel & Senior Consultant

    Since joining DisputeSoft in 2016, T.J. Wolf has consulted for clients on a variety of…

    , , , , , , ,

    Aparna V. Kaliappan

    Associate Director

    At DisputeSoft, Aparna assists in drafting expert, rebuttal, and investigative reports…

    , , , , , , ,

    Evan D’Aversa

    Senior Consultant

    At DisputeSoft, Evan is a Senior Consultant responsible for analyzing source code in IP…

    , , , , , , ,

    Need assistance with Software Patent Infringement?

    If you are an attorney in need of a software patent infringement expert, we invite you to contact DisputeSoft.

    CONTACT DISPUTESOFT

    Frequently Asked Questions About a Software Patent Expert Witness

    What does a software patent expert witness do?

    A software patent expert witness analyzes source code, patent claims, file histories, and prior art to help courts and tribunals understand technical issues in patent disputes. Their work includes claim charting, infringement and validity analysis, written expert reports, and deposition and trial testimony in federal district court, ITC proceedings, and PTAB reviews.

    When should I retain a software patent expert witness?

    Engage a software patent expert witness as early as possible — ideally during pre-litigation or immediately after a complaint is filed. Early engagement allows the expert to shape discovery strategy, evaluate claim construction positions, assess the strength of infringement and invalidity contentions, and preserve source code evidence.

    How does a software patent expert witness analyze source code?

    Source code analysis typically involves tracing the functionality accused of infringement in the defendant’s codebase, mapping code components to asserted patent claims via claim charts, and comparing accused functionality to the claim language. This work is often performed via a secure review computer or on-site at a designated  source code review location typically subject to protective order restrictions.

    What is claim charting, and why does it matter?

    A claim chart maps each element of a patent claim to specific features of the alleged infringing product, with citations to source code, documentation, and other evidence. Claim charts are foundational to both infringement contentions in district court and to patent challenges before the PTAB, and they are often central to expert witness reports.

    Can a software patent expert witness help with reverse engineering?

    Yes. When source code is not produced in discovery, experts use reverse engineering techniques — decompilers, debuggers, packet sniffers, bus analyzers, and functional testing — to determine whether an alleged infringing product embodies the claimed invention. Reverse engineering techniques are also used in pre-litigation to evaluate competitor products for potential infringement of a patent portfolio.

    Does DisputeSoft handle Inter Partes Review (IPR) and other PTAB proceedings?

    Yes. DisputeSoft provides expert declarations, written opinions, and deposition testimony for these reviews and proceedings.