Goodwin Procter IP litigators have won a significant trial victory for client ePlus, a leading provider of IT products and services. In a decision handed down in late January, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia unanimously found that Lawson Software had infringed multiple ePlus patents relating to electronic procurement systems. The jury also determined that all ePlus patent claims tried in court were valid.
The jury found that three different system configurations of Lawson’s Supply Chain Management products infringed 11 claims of the ePlus patents, and determined that Lawson directly infringed ePlus’ patents. It also found that Lawson had induced and contributed to its customers’ infringement of the ePlus patents. Within an hour of the verdict, the court scheduled a hearing on ePlus’ request for an injunction to shut down Lawson’s infringing activity, which has generated hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue for Lawson over the past few years.
The verdict came after a dramatic three-week trial. When confronted on cross-examination with documents suggesting that Lawson’s software infringed the ePlus patents, Lawson employees conceded that functionality and features of the software matched up with the elements of the ePlus patent claims. Additionally, the credibility of Lawson’s key expert witness was undercut when he acknowledged on cross-examination that he had never spoken to a single Lawson employee or witness.