On Friday, June 21st, Banner Witcoff secured an across-the-board victory for client Apprio, Inc. at the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Apprio is a technology solutions provider, particularly for the Health, Defense and Homeland Security markets.
A former employee had claimed ownership of software that had been assigned to Apprio, and sued Apprio for breach of contract and copyright infringement, seeking $63 million in damages. In June, 2019, Banner obtained a dismissal of the suit against Apprio. Apprio also successfully countersued to clarify that it owned the software at issue pursuant to an employment contract that had been digitally “acknowledged” by the former employee. After obtaining favorable summary judgment rulings at the District Court, the former employee appealed. The recent Court of Appeals decision affirmed the summary judgment rulings in favor of Apprio. The opinion is the first in D.C. to hold that copyright assignments are subject to the E-Sign Act and may be assigned via electronic agreements.
Banner Witcoff attorneys John Hutchins, Christopher Roth, and Janice Mitrius collaborated on the appeal. You can read the full opinion by clicking here.
Posted: June 26, 2024
