HOWARD J. COHEN, Ph.D.
President
Cohen Software Consulting, Inc.
3272 Cowper Street
Palo Alto, CA 94306-3004
(650) 856-8123
(650) 856-4273 (fax)
howard@cohensw.com
http://www.cohensw.com/

Selected Projects

• Law Offices of David Rubin, Cupertino, CA
  For the Plaintiff in a contract dispute. Defendant promised training as an expert witness in patent intellectual property, defendant paid $22,400 for it, but claims he never received anything of relevance. Analyzed documents, presented evidence of actual and relevant expert witness trainings available. Case settled.
   
• Burger, Meyer & D’Angelo, LLP, Ladera Ranch, CA
  For the Defendant in a motor vehicle accident case, where the issues involved software used to qualify gig drivers. Analyzed documents, videos, Android/Java source code. Case settled.
   
• Willson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosatti, P.C., Palo Alto, CA
  For the Defendant and Counter-Claimant in a case involving application programming interfaces, derivative work, SaaS, and potential fraud by a former director of a startup that had since been acquired by a public company. Began analysis, report writing. Plaintiff's expert was disqualified, so no need for a rebuttal expert (me).
   
• Sanders * Pianowski, LLP, Elkhart, IN
  For the Defendant in a patent matter relating to fixator hardware and software used in orthopedic surgeries and bone corrections. Wrote Declaration for Markman hearing. Was deposed. Also wrote Invalidity Report and Non-Infringement Report. Case settled.
   
• Holland Law LLP, San Francisco, CA
  For the Plaintiff in a software development contract dispute. Equipment rental company contracted for a system to track inventory, invoicing, etc. Claimed that after one and a half years of development, the system underperformed, did not meet requirements, was unusable. Began analysis, report writing. Case paused, then settled.
   
• Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c., Milwaukee and Madison, WI
  For the Plaintiff in a contract dispute involving a web based eCommerce site written in Magento2 and PHP. Investigated Defendant’s use of “industry standards” in their process. Wrote an expert report; was deposed. Case is ongoing.
   
• Putterman Yu LLP, San Francisco; also Stoel Rives LLP and Wang & Chang Law, San Francisco.
  For the Plaintiff in a trade secret and copyright matter involving web based Labor Compliance Programs for monitoring government contracts, especially wage and fringe benefits standards. Used CodeMatch, performed source code analysis. Databases were MSSQL Server and MySQL; languages were Java, C#, SQL, and Javascript. Wrote expert report, was deposed, testified at trial in State Court.
   
• Phillips Lytle LLP, Buffalo and New York, NY
  For the Defendant and Counter-Claimant in a copyright and contract dispute matter involving web based software for employee benefits management. Wrote an expert report. Case settled.
   
• Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c., Milwaukee, WI
  For the Plaintiff in copyright infringement matter for a web based application for GIS (geographical information systems) used by cities and counties for managing geographical information (parcel info, utility locations, etc.). Ran CodeMatch and analyzed MSSQL database schemas. Code was Visual Basic (*.vb and *.aspx files), as well as JavaScript. Also analyzed and compared user interfaces for the two applications. Case settled.
   
• DeWitt Ross and Stevens SC, Madison and Brookfield, WI
  For the Plaintiff in a copyright infringement case involving software for interacting with ATM machines. Systems both written in Latin America, in Spanish. Languages include Cobol, java, SQL, NDL. Tools used include CodeMatch. Wrote three reports, one declaration; was deposed.
   
• Wilkinson, Goeller, Modesitt, Wilkinson & Drummy, LLP, Terre Haute, IN
  For the defense in a discrimination case. Investigated Facebook policies with regard to deleting information and messages from an account, effect on other user accounts. Wrote an affidavit.
   
• Greenberg Traurig, Orlando and Miami, FL
  For the Respondent and Counterclaimant in an Arbitration involving non-literal copyright infringement, trade secret misappropriation, and contractual issues. Application area was client's "brand standards" business (assessing restaurants, stores, etc. for food safety, health, workplace excellence and other issues) and the several systems built for that. Wrote 3 reports and two witness statements. Case settled.
   
• Gill & Mullholand, LLP, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  For the Plaintiff in a copyright infringement matter involving educational software and web sites. Used CodeMatch and shared libraries analysis. Code in C#, java, C++, php, js, SQL.
   
• McPharlin Sprinkles & Thomas, LLP, San Jose, CA
  For the Defendant in a trade secret aspect of a larger litigation. Analyzed the defendant's web sites and the plaintiff's automated chip testing software to opine on whether one may have been derived from work done on the other. Case settled.
   
• Baker Botts, LLP, Dallas, TX
  For the Defendant in a patent infringement matter involving GIS (Geographical Information Systems) and store locator functionality. Read patents and file histories, discussed claim terms in preparing for a Markman brief and hearing. Case settled.
   
• Baker Botts, LLP, Dallas, TX
  For the Defendant in a patent infringement matter involving combined geographical and topical search, specifically store locator functionality. Analyzed patent and Defendant's (java) source code. Wrote rebuttal non-infringement report. Deposed. Case settled.
   
• Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, Menlo Park, CA
  For the Defendant in a patent matter involving GIS and software to display parcel maps. Wrote a Declaration for the Markman hearing. Case went to IPR.
   
• Kilisch Hartwell, P.C., Portland, OR.
  For the Defendants in a contract, copyright, trade secret dispute involving industrial automation software.
   
• Freitas Tseng and Kaufman LLP, Redwood Shores, CA
  For the Plaintiff in a patent infringement matter in the area of databases and data mining related to how systems are designed to monetize demographic information collected from users via targeted advertising. PTAB ruled claims invalid in IPR.
   
• Hahn Loeser & Parks, LLP, Cleveland, OH
  For the Plaintiffs in a matter involving breach of contract, non-literal copyright infringement and trade secret misappropriation. Application area is web based systems for automating and tracking post-discharge calls to hospital patients for follow up. Analyzed systems and documentation, ran CodeMatch on source code sets (C#, .NET, SQL), wrote an expert report and a rebuttal report, was deposed. Case settled.
   
• The Law Offices of Christopher P Berney, PC, Atlanta, GA
  For the Defendants in a copyright infringement matter involving MSSQL stored procedures and php code running against a MySQL DB. Application area is credit/debit card transaction processing. Set up and ran CodeMatch, analyzed source code, wrote a rebuttal report. Case settled.
   
• Perkins Coie, LLP, San Francisco, CA
  For the Defendants in a copyright infringement matter. Set up and ran CodeMatch on part of the Defendant's versus the Plaintiff's source trees.
   
• Baker Botts, LLP, Dallas, TX.
  For the Defendant in a patent infringement matter involving combined geographical and topical search. Analyzed patent and extensive source code sets in multiple languages (python, ruby, C++). Wrote rebuttal non-infringement report. Case settled.
   
• Foley Bezek Behle & Curtis LLP, Costa Mesa, CA
  For the Plaintiff in a copyright infringement matter involving reverse engineering and copying of screens and workflow in a web based application for the appraisal management industry. Analyzed historical screen shots and three demo programs. Wrote Expert Report, Rebuttal Report; was deposed; testified at a JAMS hearing. Case settled.
   
• Baker, Manock and Jensen, PC, Fresno, CA
  For the Defendant in a copyright infringement matter involving 1990's Foxpro code for the tomato processing industry and related financials. Analyzed several code sets. Case settled.
   
• Antonelli, Harrington, & Thompson LLP, Houston, TX
  For the Plaintiff in a patent infringement suit involving auto-complete functionality. Began analysis. Court declared patent invalid.
   
• Holland & Hart, LLP, Las Vegas, NV and Clark Wilson, LLP, Vancouver, BC, Canada
  For the Complainants in a commercial arbitration involving a software development contract and claims of unusability, as well as counterclaims of copywrite infringement. Performed CodeMatch analysis, wrote expert report. Case settled.
   
• Moscone, Emblidge and Sater, San Francisco, CA
  For the Defendants in a trade secret counter claim in a complex multi-party contract dispute. Technology involved municipal tow truck dispatching and management systems. Analyzed purported trade secrets, wrote an Expert Report. Trade secret aspect decided in my clients' favor in MSJ ruling.
   
• Pillsbury Winthrop, McLean, VA
  For the Defendants in a copyright infringement matter. Technology involved a NASA web site created in HTML and ColdFusion. Analyzed aspects of the web site and rebutted Plaintiff’s experts' reports. Wrote Expert Report. Case decided in Defendants’ favor in MSJ ruling.
   
• Husch Blackwell, Kansas City, MO
  For the Defendants in a copyright infringement and contract dispute matter, with counter claims. Technology involved web based systems for managing accounts and credentials of insurance agents and brokers, with customization for individual states. Performed CodeMatch analysis on two large systems (sets of source code in multiple languages), looking for evidence of one being derived from the other.
   
• Cozen and O'Connor, Los Angeles, CA
  For the Defendants in a trade secret misappropriation matter. Application area is electronic bingo games. Education of attorney, code analysis. Wrote Declarations.
   
• Wang and Chang, San Francisco, CA
  For the Plaintiff in a trade secret misappropriation matter. Technology area was Network Management Systems and Element Management Systems for real-time inventory and status of network equipment, including embedded software. Used CodeMatch to compare java, XML, and DTD code/files; manual comparison of SQL files, showing massive code copying as well as web site copying. Wrote Expert Report. Case settled out of court.
   
• Ford Family Law, Oakland, CA
  Expert Consultant in a divorce proceeding, for the Plaintiff (wife). Assisted the financial expert in evaluating technology and marketplace for husband's software company products. Case resolved.
   
• Kilpatrick & Townsend, Winston-Salem, NC and Atlanta, GA
  Expert witness for two Defendents in a patent action to be tried in the Eastern District of Texas. Analyzed the patent and Linux networking code to argue non-infringement. Wrote Expert Report, was deposed, prepared for trial. Case settled out of court.
   
• Hinshaw & Culbertson, Chicago, IL
  Expert Witness for the Defense in a matter involving alleged theft of trade secrets. Analyzed a proprietary binary file format to opine on the ease or difficulty of reverse engineering the format. Wrote Expert Report. Prepared for trial. Case settled out of court.
   
• Harbin & Hein, Chicago, IL
  Expert Witness for the Plaintiff in a copyright infringement case involving court rules data sets and software for using/viewing/interacting with the rules. Used CodeMatch to analyze source code. Analyzed a number of court rules data sets (using shell scripts, sed, sort, uniq, and emacs, among other tools). Wrote Expert Report. Case settled out of court.
   
• Thompson & Knight, Dallas, TX
  Expert Witness for the Defendant in a legal malpractice case that includes a software patent case within a case. Code analysis of existing and missing code for significance to the patent. Technology is an automated self-service gasoline pumping system. My line of inquiry was terminated when no new evidence (not already argued in a dismissed rebuttal to a Motion for Summary Judgment in a previous matter) was uncovered.
   
• Andersen, Bonnifield, & Roscha, Concord, CA
  Working for the Plaintiff in a trade secret misappropriation matter. Technology is planning and record keeping software for a construction firm. Case settled out of court
   
• Dave L Neville, Esq., Ojai, CA
  Work for the Defendants in their counter claim in a contract dispute. Technology involves a web site for secure corporate blogging, wikis, etc. Wrote an expert report.
   
• K&L Gates, Chicago, IL
  Expert Witness for the Plaintiff in a patent matter involving 11 patents in the area of automated medical diagnosis and treatment advice systems. Analyzed patents and Defendant's on-line systems and source code, prepared claim charts. Case settled out of court.
   
• deVries Law Firm, Sacramento, CA
  Expert witness for the Plaintiff in a wrongful denial of disability benefits case for a software engineer/computer scientist. Wrote Expert Report. Case settled out of court.
   
• Darin R. Dominguez, Cerittos, CA
  Expert witness for the defense in a trade secret misappropriation case involving software for chiropractic practice management. Work involved comparing MSSQL database schemas, stored procedure, views, etc., as well as source code in C#. Plaintiffs dropped the action before full discovery.
   
• Richard C. Young, esq., Reno, NV
  Expert Consultant in a divorce case where one party had created a complex engineering software package and company. Work involved understanding the system and helping with appropriate discovery requests.
   
• Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker, Palo Alto, CA; Stetina Brunda Garrett & Brucker, Aliso Viejo, CA
  Patent infringement and cross complaint in the area of scanned document image cleanup and recognition. Wrote Expert Report. Case settled out of court.
   
• Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP, Boston, MA; DLA Piper, Boston, MA
  Software Copyright infringement case in the area of portfolio management and valuation. Languages were C/C++, Java, PL/SQL; older code in Vax Basic and Visual Basic. Wrote two Expert Affidavits. Prepared to testify at trial. Case settled while in trial.
   
• Lowrie Lando & Anastasi, LLP, Cambridge, MA
  A software patent infringement case. Technology area is image processing for biomedical research instrumentation. Environment is Windows, C++. Case settled out of court.
   
• Timothy D. McGonigle Professional Corporation, Santa Monica, CA
  Breach of contract, software plagiarism, copyright infringement, trade secret misappropriation involving medical practice management software and clinical management software (EMR or Electronic Medical Records). Environment is Windows, C/C++, MS SQL Server, .NET, C#, XML, SQL. Wrote several Declarations and two Expert Reports. Deposed twice, testified at Arbitration hearing. Case decided by Arbitrator in my client's favor.
   
• Mehaffy Weber, P.C., Houston, TX
  Software patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation matter. Analyzed productions. Language is Java; database is MS SQL Server. Technology is construction management and QA software, including statistical analyses. Case settled out of court.
   
• Ropers Majeski Kohn Bentley, Los Angeles, CA
  A software trade secret misappropriation and copyright infringement matter. Technology is Electronic Medical Records systems, with an emphasis on Cardiology practice. Languages are C, C++, XML, SQL; environment is Windows and MS SQL Server. Case settled out of court.
   
• Carver, Kirchhoff, Schwarz, McNab, & Bailey, LLC, Denver, CO
  Also, Horowitz & Forbes, LLP, Denver, CO
  A software copyright infringement matter involving the DMCA. Technology is digital mapping software and ambulance dispatch systems. Languages are C and VB; environment is WindowsCE. Created Expert Report, deposed, testified at trial. Case ruled in Plaintiff's favor in jury trial.
   
• Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Cerisi, LLP, Minneapolis, MN
  A software trade secrets misappropriation case in the field of non-native data recovery and extraction. Code analysis, creation of an Expert Report, Rebuttal Report, deposition. Case was settled out of court rather favorably for my client.
   
• Timothy Johnson, Esq., Houston, TX
  A software patent infringement case in the field of Registered Email. Patent analysis, code analysis, creation of an Expert Report. Deposed. Case settled in my client's favor in Summary Judgement.
   
• Horowitz and Rubinoff, Oakland, CA
  A wrongful termination case where I repaired a damaged email archive and then analyzed it and a home directory archive for relevant documents. Case settled out of court.
   
• Hinton, Cochran and Borba, Santa Rosa, CA
  Expert witness in a civil suit involving issues around porting a complex application between operating systems. Code analysis. Wrote Expert Report. Deposed. Case settled out of court.
   
• Carr and Ferrell, LLP, Palo Alto, CA
  A trade secret misappropriation case where I helped analyze the Rebuttal Report and framed a detailed response thereto, in collaboration with other expert consultants. Investigated alleged prior art, patents, theses, and commercial systems.
   
• Pillsbury and Winthrop, LLP, McLean, VA
  Expert consultant in an eCommerce patent infringement suit, including code analysis. Court ruled in favor of my clients.
   
• Levy, Ram & Olson, LLP, San Francisco
  In a class action suit against a large bank, I was involved in database issues over whether and how the class could be determined and the alleged damages assessed. The Court certified the class.
   
• Kapczynski vs Comier
  A divorce case where I was engaged directly by one of the parties to testify about the nature of email kept on the ISP's server.
   
• Albini and Cohn, San Francisco
  Expert witness investigating an ISP's automatic disconnect policies for dial-in connections for a civil suit.
   
• McDonald, Rogers and Rizzolo, Somerville, NJ
  Expert witness in an alleged computer break in and vandalism case. Analysis of system logs and dumps, various scenarios. Case against my client was dismissed.
   
• O'Melveny and Myers, LLP, Los Angeles
  Expert witness consulting in a software development contract dispute. Analyzed an RFP, Proposal, and Design Specification for completeness, reasonableness and appropriateness. Case was settled out of court.
   
• O'Melveny and Myers, LLP, San Francisco
  Expert consultant in a high profile software theft case. Analysis of very large sets of source code involving the graphical user interface of several electronic design automation systems looking for plagiarism.

 
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Forensic Expert Witness Association
Professional and Technical Consultants Association
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Physical Society
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), Life Senior Member
IEEE Consultants' Network of Silicon Valley (IEEE CNSV)

 
CERTIFICATIONS

Certified by S.A.F.E. Corporation in the use of the CodeSuite® software analysis tool set in intellectual property litigation.

Copyright © 2002-2024 Cohen Software Consulting, Inc., All Rights Reserved
For further information, please contact howard@cohensw.com