Versata v. SAP was one of the biggest patent cases of 2011, producing a $345 million verdict for Versata Software Inc. A year later, patent lawyers are still talking about the case, but the topic of conversation has shifted from the giant payoff to whether offshore litigation consultants, like the ones hired by Versata’s lawyers at McKool Smith, can be trusted with confidential documents.
A judge in Tyler ruled on June 12 that offshore litigation consultants can review confidential documents produced in an unrelated patent infringement suit that Eon Corp. brought against manufacturers of electrical grid technology. The ruling by U.S. Magistrate Judge John Love sheds new light on allegations that an offshore litigation services company breached the confidentiality of documents produced in the Versata case, attracting U.S. Justice Department scrutiny.
