8/14/12

Missouri Lawyers Media > Print > Jury rules for defense in software dispute

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Jury rules for defense in software dispute

by Heather Cole Published: August 14th, 2012 A federal jury decided last week that St. Louis entrepreneur Dave Barton, along with the software programmer, owned software his company used. After two hours of deliberation Wednesday, the seven jurors returned a defense verdict for Barton, his partners, his freight and distribution company and two other companies that used the software in a lawsuit filed by software programmer Stuart Tomlinson and defunct company Two Palms Software Inc., also known as TPSi. Tomlinsons copyright infringement and trade secret misappropriation lawsuit alleged the defendant companies Worldwide Freight Management, Air One Worldwide Logistics Services and Interstate Logistics stopped paying fees for the software in 2007. The lawsuit initially claimed more than $10.4 million in damages. The plaintiff demanded $750,000 before the eight-day trial started, said Steven Schwartz, a Brown & James attorney who represented five of the seven defendants. U.S. District Judge Carol Jackson mid-trial dismissed a copyright infringement claim. The defense had argued that the software was the product of work for hire, and that Tomlinson had filed the copyright application in his own name, rather than TPSis, rendering it invalid. Even if it was valid, Tomlinson abandoned his right to it by giving Barton instructions on transferring the software to Worldwide Freights server and telling Barton in 2006 that he was quitting TPSi and dissolving the company, which maintained the software, at the end of the year. It was a significant victory to get the copyright claim dismissed altogether, Schwartz said. It probably was the strongest claim otherwise. Plaintiffs attorney Kurt Schafers, of St. Louis firm Cosgrove Law, didnt return a call seeking comment by press time. In his lawsuit, Tomlinson said he researched, designed, developed and wrote the source code for management software for Worldwide Freight Management before the business launched in 2002. Barton, who has no formal training or experience in software design or development, would periodically stop by Tomlinsons home, where Tomlinson was working every day on the software, to check on progress and offer suggestions on functions, the lawsuit said. But in testimony last week in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, Barton said he collaborated with Tomlinson to develop the software on frequent visits. Every aspect of the software was based on how I wanted my company to run, function and operate, Barton said. Barton also described the development of his relationship with Tomlinson: The two met at a mutual friends house and bowled in the same league. In 2001, their personal relationship took a turn toward business, when Barton asked Tomlinson to design software for Worldwide Freight, which Barton was launching with two partners, according to Tomlinsons lawsuit. The company, which focuses on hotels, now has 15 employees. Tomlinson was interested in committing to the work only if it would result in the formation of a new software company in which he would have a substantial personal interest, his lawsuit said. Two and a half months after Worldwide Freight Management started up, TPSi was formed with Tomlinson, Barton, and Raymond Tomlinson, Stuart Tomlinsons father and an accountant for the business, as the owners. The defense contended that TPSi foundered because its software was designed specifically for Worldwide Freight, and couldnt be used successfully by anyone else, Schwartz said.
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8/14/12

Missouri Lawyers Media > Print > Jury rules for defense in software dispute

The plaintiffs case relied on the uncorroborated testimony of Tomlinson, who made exaggerated claims, including that he worked 80 hours a week on it for seven years, Schwartz said. In closing arguments, the defense told the jury that if they couldnt believe Tomlinson, they couldnt find in his favor. The jury got it right, said Matt McBride, who represented defendants Interstate Logistics and James Wheelohon, one of that companys owners. There was an agreement that Dave Barton was a co-owner of the software and the jury made that determination, said McBride, of Lashly & Baer. Certainly Air One and Interstate and the nonrelated players had nothing to do with this other than the misfortune of getting involved with Two Palms and Stuart Tomlinson. The case is Two Palms Software Inc. et al v. Worldwide Freight Management et al, 4:10-CV010445.
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