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ARTICLE · 25 MARCH 2021

Remanded For Damages: Navy Was Not Authorized To Copy Software

Taft, Stettinius & Hollister LLP
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The U.S. Court of Federal Appeals (CAFC) just released its decision in another breach of software license case. Bitmanagement Software GMBH v. United States, Fed. Cir. 2020-1139 (Feb. 25, 2021).

United StatesGovernment, Public Sector
Erin R. Davis
Erin R. Davis
Barbara Duncombe
Barbara Duncombe
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The U.S. Court of Federal Appeals (CAFC) just released its decision in another breach of software license case. Bitmanagement Software GMBH v. United States, Fed. Cir. 2020-1139 (Feb. 25, 2021). This is the second case where the court recently found for the contractor and held the Government to have overextended its use of a software license. (For a similar case at the Contract Board of Appeals, please see here).

As factual background, the Navy was using Bitmanagement's software through a third party reseller agreement. The Navy was having trouble tracking the seat licenses and transferring them when needed (i.e. when Navy personnel transitioned). So the Navy and Bitmanagement directly discussed solutions.

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