Software and Systems Licensing and Contract Negotiation Expert Witness
Brooks Hilliard has negotiated hundreds of computer systems and services contracts as an information technology consultant and, prior to founding Business Automation, as an industry executive. Although he is not an attorney, he has been hired to work with clients’ attorneys to negotiate computer system contracts even in projects where he did not consult on the system selection.
As a consulting and testifying expert, he has been engaged in numerous litigation projects where the understanding of computer industry terms of art and/or the common industry usage of such terms in the context of a computer system or software acquisition or the provision of computer-based services was a primary factor or a significant contributing factor to the understanding of the issue in dispute.
He has given testimony more than a dozen times in federal and state court and AAA arbitrations, regarding the normal and customary meaning of various industry terms of art used in contracts and contract negotiation.
- Testimony Ruled Admissible after Daubert Challenge regarding the application of specialized knowledge and review of contract terms to software functionality, quality and implementation issues (case in Federal District Court settled favorably subsequent to Daubert ruling, copy of ruling available on request).
- Testified about the Normal and Customary understanding what Perpetual Software Licenses cover, and what various terms of art are customarily understood to mean, when the license coverage and terms of art in the Software Licensing Agreement (SLA) were not defined in the license itself (settled favorably after deposition testimony).
- Testified regarding developer and customer Compliance with the Terms of an
OEM Software Development Agreement (settled favorably after deposition
testimony). - Testified regarding Software License Fees, specific issue dealt with whether licensee’s implementation of software violated contract terms (settled favorably after deposition testimony).
- Testified regarding License Fees for Software Licensed on a Per-user Basis with different fees for different types of users and the issue dealt with whether licensee’s usage complied with the license terms (settled favorably after deposition testimony).
- Testified in Defense Procurement Matter, regarding conformance of licensed software to terms of procurement contract (favorable ruling by Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals).
- Testified regarding Applicability of Services Fees, specific issue dealt with whether specific billings were (uncovered) development services or (covered) implementation services (favorable AAA panel ruling).
- Testified regarding whether System Implementation was Completed Consistent with Contractual Commitments (favorable Federal District Court jury verdict).
- Testified numerous times regarding Normal and Customary Usage of Computer Industry Terms of Art in contracts where such terms were not included among the contract’s defined terms (many matters, most settled after deposition testimony).
Mr. Hilliard has been engaged for more than 100 expert witness/consulting assignment relating to computer software/system non-performance and implementation, intellectual property, system/software licensing and contracting, computer forensics, etc. He has been successfully Daubert tested (copies of rulings available on request) and has testified in both state and federal jurisdictions, as well as AAA arbitrations and various governmental hearings.
Engagements have dealt with issues relating to license fees, contract extension and/or termination, and customer expectations based on the normal customs and practices of the business computer system industry.
Attorney references and case captions are available on request.
