Gary Nutt

I am a legal expert software consultant, and a retired University of Colorado Computer Science professor

I have worked in the following areas: Computer systems, distributed systems, operating systems, architecture, real-time systems, intellectual property, collaboration technology, groupware, internet content management and distribution, mobile computing, software design and implementation technologies, computer forensics, digital rights management, digital imaging, and cable TV technology.

• Software Design and Implementation
  • Idaho Power, Boise, ID (1966-67). Substation inventory tracking system.
  • Boeing Aircraft, Seattle, WA (1967-69). Real-time and offline support for the transonic and supersonic wind tunnels.
  • Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, Palo Alto, CA (1978-80). Experimental collaboration technology and the first workflow models and systems. Among the first users of leading edge bitmap display workstations, distributed software, object-oriented programming, servers, and experimental Ethernet LAN technology as they were being invented.
  • Bell Labs, Denver (1980-81). Telephony-based (ISDN) collaboration systems.
  • Group Bull, Paris, France (1993). On sabbatical leave from university. Advanced design and development for workflow products.
  • Inktomi, Inc., Foster City, CA (2001). Academic leave from University of Colorado. Content and media distribution. Managed corporate intellectual property program. Evaluate IP, then manage disclosure of IP to inside and outside counsel.
• Professor
  • Assistant and Associate Prof. of Computer Science, University of Colorado (1972-78). Computer systems. Performance modeling and measurement. Multiprocessor systems (MSIMD systems)
  • Professor (1986-2010). Distributed systems, operating systems, real-time systems, software design and implementation, networks, and collaboration technology,
  • Taught courses in introductory programming, data structures, computer systems, operating systems, object-oriented programming and design, networks, Linux kernel internals, and operating systems for small computers.
• Management
  • Engineering Director, NBI, Inc., Boulder, CO (1981-84). Built software and hardware engineering from zero to 85 people.
  • Engineering Director and Vice President Interactive Systems, Inc., Boulder, CO (1984-86). As Director, built a software engineering orginization of 25 people. As a Vice President, I was responsible for all aspects of the operation of the Colorado cost center.
  • Bookface.com, San Francisco, CA (2000). Vice president of engineering. (On sabbatical leave from university.) Staffing. Design and planning of DRM products. Managed intellectual property. Assisted president in fund raising.

Here is a list of publications.

Legal Expert Work

Since 1995 I have been retained by various law firms to investigate, educate, advise, and testify on a broad spectrum of computer technology. I have written many declarations and expert reports, I have been deposed several times, and I have testified in an arbitration hearing and twice in court.

• Assisting the Court. I have been a Special Master to Hon. John L. Kane, Jr., U.S. District Court, Colorado, and to Hon. Jack W. Berryhill, Jefferson County District Court, Colorado. I have also been a court-appointed expert for Hon. Gerald Rafferty, Arapaho County Court, Colorado.
• Intellectual Property, Trade Secret, and Copyright Law. In the last decade the majority of cases in which I have been involved have focused on intellectual property and copyright issues related to software, systems, and networks — their design and implementation. These cases have addressed technologies including, but not limited to:
  • Operating system software, including
    • Linux
    • Various versions of Unix
    • Various versions of Windows and DOS
    • CP/M and other 8/16-bit systems
    • Microkernel-based (Mach and others) systems
    • Object-oriented operating operating systems
    • Small computer operating systems and platforms
      • Embedded Linux, Windows (Embedded NT, CE, Win Mobile, etc.), Android, Symbian, and others
      • operating and runtime systems for set-top boxes, cell phones, E-book Readers, and other handheld devices)
    • Proprietary operating systems
  • Distributed systems
  • Networks and protocols
  • Object-oriented software and systems
  • Runtime system extensions
  • Internet e-commerce
  • Collaboration software
  • Processor architecture
  • Software for various application domains, e.g., mobile devices, banking, sales and customer management, plumbing design.
  The combination of years of experience as a researcher in systems, including hardware and software (from 1972 to 1980 and from 1986 to 2010), in the commercial computer industry )from 1980 to 1986 and in 2000-2001), as an industry consultant (since 1986), and on over 35 cases as a legal expert (since 1995) provide a unique background and expertise in computer-related intellectual property, trade secrets, and copyright cases.
• Preparing Patent Materials. I have industrial experience in creating patent applications: At Bookface.com (2000) I wrote the detailed specification for the company's technical and business intellectual property, then worked with outside counsel to create the patent application. At Inktomi (2000-2001), my job was to understand all of the key technology in an Internet company — search and web caching technologies — to determine which elements were patentable, and then to prepare the IP for disclosure to inhouse counsel, and ultimately to outside counsel who filed the patent.
• Computer Forensics. My interest in this domain is in high profile, high stakes, and/or highly complex situations where credibility of the expert is crucial, and where mistakes in the forensic analysis can miss, or even destroy, the essential evidence in the case. I have served as a Special Master, court-appointed expert, testifying expert and consulting expert in this area for over 15 years. When I began to work in this area, there were no commercially-available forensics tools, so investigations relied on a strong background in operating systems, and on an ability to create analysis tools, for example to preserve evidence by making bit-by-bit images of disks and for conducting forensic analysis of those images. Please contact me if your case depends on deep, credible expertise and understanding of system design and behavior (rather than simple analysis of a disk).
• Other Legal Work. Finally I have worked on a few cases that are strongly related to computing, but in which the fundamental issues were not defined by computer technology per se. For example, in Religious Technology Center vs F.A.C.T.Net the fundamental issue was copyright violation: my role as Special Master was to restore certain computers to their original state, and to provide Judge Kane with unbiased advise on all computer aspects of the case. This required both practical skill (to restore the system and to conduct a thorough forensic examination) and extensive conceptual knowledge regarding systems (to advise the bench). In Patterson vs Evans, et al., the fundmental issue was libel and slander; The Defendant filed for a Motion for Summary Judgement, using information from my report. (The Groklaw web site published comments on my report and the court's ruling here). In this case it was important to have deep familiarity with period commercial personal computers (such as the CP/M operating system and Intel 8-bit and 16-bit personal computer hardware) as well as conceptual knowledge of the full spectrum of operating systems from the 1970s.

Please see the list of cases for more detail.

Industry Consultant

I have been an industry consultant and advisory board member in many areas of software, ranging over technical training, object-oriented technologies, open systems, operating systems, networks, software for cable TV, distributed systems, and Internet social networks and content distribution, Here is a list of some of my consulting clients.