Houston’s AZA Law Firm Defeats Key Motion in Federal Patent Case for Versata

AUSTIN, Texas – Lawyers with the Houston complex commercial litigation boutique AZA, or Ahmad, Zavitsanos & Mensing, have won a significant victory for Austin-based client Versata Software Inc. by defeating a key legal motion filed by accused patent infringer Zoho Corp. The win means Versata’s lawsuit will move forward.

The ruling issued by Judge Sam Sparks in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in Austin rejected Zoho’s contention that Versata’s U.S. Patent No. 7,092,740 is directed only to an abstract idea, which would have made the invention ineligible for patent protection under Section 101 of the U.S. Patent Act. The Versata patent applies to display techniques for smartphone screens and other space-constrained displays

AZA’s win represents an important victory for a software patent owner on the issue of patent eligibility. Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2014 decision in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International, the majority of motions challenging the patentability of an invention have been decided against patent owners.

Successfully representing Versata were AZA partner Steve Mitby and associate George W. Webb III, assisted by local counsel Travis Barton and Rick Milvenan of McGinnis Lochridge in Austin. The lawsuit, Versata Software Inc., et al. v. Zoho Corp., No. 1:13-CV-00371, accuses four of Zoho’s product families of infringing the Versata patent.

AZA is widely recognized for its successful representation of clients in intellectual property litigation, including winning a $391 million judgment for Versata in a patent infringement case against SAP America Inc. that earned international news coverage. AZA also is among just a handful of U.S. law firms listed in the London-based IP guide Intellectual Asset Management.

AZA, or Ahmad, Zavitsanos & Mensing, is a Houston-based law firm that is home to true courtroom lawyers with a formidable track record in complex commercial litigation, including energy, intellectual property and business dispute cases. AZA is recognized in Chambers USA 2015 among the best in Texas commercial law; U.S. News & World Report and The Best Lawyers in America as one of the country’s best commercial litigation firms; Texas Lawyer as the 2015 Litigation Department of the Year and Law360 as a Texas Powerhouse law firm. National corporate counsel named AZA both one of the country’s best in client service and one of the most feared. Read more at https://azalaw.com.