The convergence of cutting-edge technology and healthcare has given rise to a multitude of challenges related to faulty medical devices, often culminating in litigation between victims and manufacturers. A crucial aspect of these cases is the U.S. FDA (Food and Drug Administration) 510(k) process. This article provides an overview of the 510(k) process and discusses its potential pitfalls with an eye toward collaborations between software experts and lawyers litigating medical device failures. What is the 510(k) Process? The 510(k) process was designed to expedite the introduction of new medi ..read more

When it comes to software expert witnesses, personality goes a long way, but it doesn’t go far enough. In the world of patent and software litigation, finding the perfect expert witness is like hunting for a needle in a haystack. Even a highly knowledgeable expert can come up short though if they lack the unique qualities that only the best software expert witnesses bring to the table. It’s about more than just having a good personality. We're talking about personablness, preparedness, and persuasiveness, or the Three Ps. It’s beyond being merely charming (although that helps)! An expert witn ..read more

In his article Best Practices in Software Source Code Discovery, Barr Group co-founder and software expert witness Michael Barr enumerates six best practices for embedded software source code discovery and the rationale for each.  The source code is the human-readable description of a piece of software or an app, which is written in a programming language such as Python, Java, C, C++, C#, Objective-C, Perl, JavaScript, VHDL, Verilog, or assembly.  This month we turn our attention to the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware's "Default Standard for Acce ..read more

The long-running court fight between Google and Oracle over Android's unlicensed use of Java API code is coming to a final battle.  The ultimate appeal will be heard by U.S. Supreme Court on October 7, 2020, albeit without keen copyright jurist Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the panel. The importance of the final decision in this case to software developers cannot be understated.  At issue, most broadly, is whether the mere API (Application Programming Interface) of software package or library can be copied as a fair use exception to the copyright of the software package ..read more

In the context of a civil or criminal court case, a witness is a person who answers questions under oath during a deposition or a trial.  The statements of each witness are his testimony, which is one type of evidence that the trier of fact (judge or jury) may consider in reaching its ultimate decision about what happened.  Significantly, there are several types of witnesses—including expert witnesses—with the rules regarding testimony depending on the type.  In particular, this article explains why opinions are allowed to be included in expert witness testimony. Eyew ..read more

Laws and legal systems vary by country, sometimes substantially.  Being geographical and cultural neighbors that also share a basis in British common law, it might seem that courts in the United States and Canada would be among the most similar in the world.  In fact, however, there are many significant distinctions.  In this article we summarize some noteworthy differences. United States vs Canada: Legal System Differences Capital punishment The death penalty remains a possible criminal punishment in U.S. federal courts, as well as in a majority of the fifty sta ..read more

It is often a challenge for non-lawyers—including expert witnesses new to patent litigation—to distinguish between the phrases "patent infringement" and "patent invalidity."  Adding to the potential for confusion, these two very different legal concerns are often at issue in a single trial and thus to be considered and decided by the very same judge or jury.  This article clarifies the distinction between infringement and invalidity. What is Patent Infringement? Patent litigation usually enters the American legal system when an individual or company that owns a patent ..read more

by Michael Barr Software has become ubiquitous. From microwave ovens to electronic throttle controls, it is now embedded into the fabric of our lives through billions of new products each year.  Whether for infringement of intellectual property rights or product liability, when products controlled by software are the subject of litigation, it is imperative to analyze the embedded software, also known as firmware, properly and thoroughly. This article enumerates six best practices for embedded software source code discovery and the rationale for each. The relative value and importance of ..read more

by Michael Barr In a previously supported case of alleged software copyright infringement, the plaintiff brought suit against the defendant for allegedly continuing to use the plaintiff’s copyrighted software source code in the defendant’s products after termination of a license agreement between the parties.  Fortunately, automated tools helped experts to quickly and inexpensively detect copying of software source code. Source Code Comparison Some of the most powerful tools for doing direct comparisons between a pair of source code sets are from SAFE Corporation. SAFE’s CodeMa ..read more

By Michael Barr Software has become ubiquitous. From microwave ovens to electronic throttle controls, it is now embedded into the fabric of our lives through billions of new products each year.  Whether for infringement of intellectual property rights or product liability, when products controlled by software are the subject of litigation, it is imperative to analyze the embedded software, also known as firmware, properly and thoroughly. This article enumerates six best practices for embedded software source code discovery and the rationale for each. The relative value and importance of ..read more