Category: Articles, Product Liability What Takata Airbag Inflators Imply For Products Liability Litigation ask about my book, "The Mechanical Design Process," a text whose 5th edition was just released by McGraw Hill TASA ID: 6319 Takata airbags inflators have been identified as the cause of at least eleven deaths and countless injuries in recent years. While all products come with risks, it appears that Takata knew about the potential for injury and death as early as 2004 and made decisions to bury this information without proactively reacting to it. Read more
Category: Articles, Resources for Attorneys, Working With Experts Litigators: Five Secrets to Getting the Best Return on Investment (ROI) from Experts TASA ID: 1648 Expert witnesses. Can’t live with them. Can’t live without them. I have worked with attorneys whose biggest problems were with their experts, not with the facts of the case. I have worked with a handful of experts who I really respect and we were more valuable to the case as complementary resources. Unfortunately, I have worked with and against many more experts who did more harm to the case than good. Read more
Category: Intellectual Property, Resources for Experts, Working With Experts Being an Expert Witness Part 2: In the Courtroom TASA ID: 3587 I have worked as an expert witness for many years, providing software, user interface, mobile, and human factors expertise, primarily for patent cases. Recently, I was involved in a patent case that actually went to trial (most are settled out of court), where I testified in court. This series of articles is about that experience. In Part 1, I introduced the case and discussed our legal team and the routine during the trial. This article will discuss some experiences and impressions from the trial itself. Read more
Category: Intellectual Property Being an Expert Witness Part 1: Working with the Legal Team TASA ID: 3587 I've been an expert witness for many years now, providing software, user interface, mobile, and human factors expertise, primarily for patent cases. This has been extremely interesting work. One interesting fact that many people do not realize is that expert witnesses seldom actually testify in court, because patent cases are almost always settled before they go to trial. That said, I was recently involved as the technical testifying expert in one of the few cases that did go to trial. In this two-part article series, I would like to share some observations from that experience. This article will discuss what it was like to work with the legal team during the trial. Part 2 will provide some observations from the trial itself. Read more
Category: Intellectual Property How to Protect Your User Interface Intellectual Property TASA ID: 3587 A well-designed, attractive user interface is valuable. In fact, it may be one of the most valuable components of your software. Apple built the biggest company in the world on best-in-class design and usability. If you develop software, you should be aware of the value of your user interface (UI), whether you should take steps to protect it, and whether you may be at risk of infringing on another UI. Read more
