Tom Ashley applies his expertise in a wide range of software-related matters, including copyright and patent infringement, trade secret misappropriation, and system implementation failure disputes.
BAR ADMISSIONS
Maryland
SOFTWARE EXPERIENCE
Programming Languages & Databases
C/C++, C#, Java, HTML, PHP, Scheme, Verilog, Assembly, Common LISP, SQL, T-SQL, MySQL, among others
Operating Systems & Servers
Windows, Linux
Mobile Devices & Applications
Android
CERTIFICATIONS
Project Management Professional (PMP®)
Project Management Institute
Professional Scrum Master I (PSM I®)
Scrum.org™
Tom Ashley has over eleven years’ experience in the IT profession, both in government and the private sector. In preparing expert reports, Tom has forensically analyzed project schedule delay, tested software performance, installed and tested prior art hardware and software, and conducted comparisons of program source code and user interfaces to determine whether copying has occurred.
Tom has significant experience with the analysis of software project failure disputes. Tom has conducted in-depth investigations of various issues of fact in software failure disputes, including requirements elaboration, requirements traceability, test planning and execution, defect remediation, and project planning and scheduling. In conducting these investigations, Tom has applied analytical methods widely accepted in the IT industry. These include the review of testing systems such as HP Quality Center, JIRA, and Team Foundation Server (TFS), analysis of defect open/close rates, application of Critical Path Method (CPM), and investigations of the use of project management methodologies such as Waterfall and Agile.
Additionally, Tom supports patent litigation by conducting in-depth source code review relating to patent infringement and non-infringement claims. Examples of such investigations include the examination and analysis of source code for telecommunications software, video compression tools, and graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for Smartphones. Tom has also assisted attorneys in the selection and installation of “prior art” systems to challenge the validity of asserted patents. In performing such work, Tom has reconstructed highly complex, vintage hardware to demonstrate the presence of relevant functionality.
Similarly, Tom has investigated factual issues in disputes relating to software copyrights and trademark infringement. These investigations have included the review and comparison of source code and graphical user interfaces. Tom has also conducted in-depth investigations of online trademark infringement, involving extensive research of domain name registrations, HTML metadata analysis, and web traffic data.
Representative Experience
Nature of Suit: Software project failure matter regarding a human resources and payroll system
Role: Consulting expert
- Tom conducted extensive research on issues pertaining to defect resolution and stabilization, including the review of contractual provisions, business requirements documents, software testing data, and defect reports
- Tom conducted an in-depth investigation of the planning and execution of testing on the project, including integration testing, performance testing, and a detailed analysis of payroll parallel testing
Certification Trendz, et al. v. Kashif Rashid, et al.
Nature of Suit: Trademark infringement matter regarding online testing and certification software
Role: Consulting expert
- Tom researched dozens of domain names and IP addresses to identify infringing entities
- Tom reviewed HTML source code on infringing websites to establish the existence of “rings” of trademark infringers
- Tom conducted extensive archival research of dozens of defendant websites to determine the extent of historical trademark infringement
Securus Technologies, Inc. v. Global Tel*Link Corp.
Nature of Suit: Patent infringement matter regarding a prison inmate telephone system patent
Role: Consulting expert
- Tom completed a prior art “stand up” kit to demonstrate the existence of claimed functionality
- Tom reviewed and recompiled client source code to gain a sophisticated understanding of relevant software
- Tom assembled inmate call processing server and installed a reconstructed version of prior art software
EDUCATION
J.D., American University Washington College of Law
B.A., Carleton College