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Ford sued by Versata over alleged software trade secret theft

Automakers are routinely subject to intellectual property and patent disputes, whether over design similarities or pieces of tech. Ford is now facing a lawsuit for alleged IP theft over a piece of software from a company called Versata, and the business wants $1 billion from the Blue Oval for the violation. With such huge amount of money at stake, the legal situation is already getting complicated. According to The Detroit Free Press, Versata's software is designed to help automakers improve product development by making sure all of a car's countless components work together. The company and Ford had a contract for the system for many years, and they were negotiating an extension at the end of 2014. However, the deal fell through, and the Blue Oval ended the two business' arrangement. Making the legal situation especially tricky is that Ford developed and patented its own software for the same task. The automaker then filed a lawsuit in Michigan to have the court check whether the program violated Versata's IP, according to The Detroit Free Press. Later, the software company registered a lawsuit in Texas and alleged the Blue Oval stole proprietary code. Versata has asked for an injunction against Ford and restitution. "Ford's patented software does not use or infringe any Versata intellectual property and Versata has provided no basis for their claims against us," the automaker said in a statement to Autoblog. "We are confident that we will ultimately prevail in this case and we look forward to the opportunity to present our evidence at trial." With both sides in dispute, that leaves Ford pushing for a hearing in Michigan and Versata for Texas. According to The Detroit Free Press, it could be at least a year before a trial, if not longer. Of course in the meantime, the two sides could conceivably reach a settlement, and the whole issue would disappear.

Ford tumbles to second worst in Consumer Reports reliability survey, list dominated by Japanese [w/video]

It's no secret that MyFord Touch has had its share of problems since being introduced, but the most recent reliability survey from Consumer Reports shows just how much this infotainment system has affected Ford. Just two years ago, the automaker was in the top 10 for the institute's reliability rankings, but since then, it has tumbled to the second-lowest rung just above dead-last Jaguar. In addition to MyFord Touch, CR also attributes a handful of new products that have had issues right out of the gate.
Compiled from 1.2 million subscriber surveys, this year's auto reliability survey heavily favors Japanese automakers, with eight of the 10 spots hailing from Japan. Toyota brands grabbed the top three spots (Scion, Toyota and Lexus - in that order) with Mazda, Subaru, Honda and Acura filling the next four spots. The only non-Asian automaker cracking the top 10 was Audi at number eight.
Audi climbed a total of 18 spots from last year, and Cadillac and GMC round out this year's top gainers breaking into the top 15. Helping Cadillac's upward movement, the CTS Coupe was named the most reliable domestic car. Lincoln, Volvo and Chrysler join Ford on this year's biggest loser list.

Sunday Drive: Big debuts from the Big Apple dominated the headlines

New York Auto Show week has come and gone, and, not surprisingly, the week's biggest bits of news came from the halls of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in NYC. Our favorite debut from New York was the Lincoln Aviator, a sharp-dresses crossover that looks lovely inside and out, and sits on underpinnings at least partly derived from the Ford Mustang. While the Aviator may have caught our attention, it wasn't the most popular vehicle debut from New York, at least when judging by the number of page views here on Autoblog. That distinction goes to the 2019 Toyota RAV4, and we're hardly surprised. The RAV4 is the most popular compact crossover in America (in fact it's the most popular vehicle that isn't a pickup truck), and the 2019 version looks like a radical departure from the model that came before. We can't wait to drive the thing. Midsize sedans may not be the darling of the family car set, that honor taken over by the aforementioned crossover, but they still sell in large enough numbers that a brand-new model catches our attention. Such is the case with the 2019 Nissan Altima. We broke down the specs of the Altima and compared Nissan's bread-and-butter sedan with its biggest rivals. And finally, we got some official figures for the 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt. It'll cost a cool $12,000 over the cost of a Mustang GT, and will benefit from a 480-horsepower, 420-pound-foot version of Ford's excellent 5.0-liter V8 engine. As always, stay tuned this week for all the latest automotive news that's fit to print. 2018 New York Auto Show Mega Photo Gallery | Start spreading the news 2019 Toyota RAV4 actually looks pretty cool 2019 Nissan Altima vs Honda Accord vs Toyota Camry: How they compare 2019 Mustang Bullitt orders open as Ford reveals price and horsepower Image Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty New York Auto Show Ford Lincoln Nissan Toyota Coupe Crossover SUV Sedan 2018 new york auto show