Gary Nutt

I am a Computer Science professor at the University of Colorado, legal expert and software consultant.

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.
  • Bell Labs, Denver (1980-81). Telephony-based 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-present). 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.
• Manager
  • NBI, Inc., Boulder, CO (1981-84). Built software and hardware engineering from zero to 85 people.
  • Interactive Systems, Inc., Boulder, CO (1984-86). Built software engineering branch from 5 to 25 engineers.
• Executive
  • Interactive Systems, Inc., Boulder, CO (1986). Vice president, Colorado cost center. Responsible for all aspects of the operation of the 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

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

• Intellectual Property 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 and systems — their design and implementation. These cases have addressed a spectrum of technologies including collaboration software, operating system software (including UNIX/Linux and Windows details), Internet e-commerce, graphics systems, networks, processor architecture, and various vertical application domains, e.g., banking, sales and customer management, plumbing design. My early hardware research has been cited as prior art in contemporary high speed processor design. In some cases my role has been to assist counsel in learning the key points of computer technology so that they can best fulfill their role as litigators. In other cases I have been a testifying expert that writes reports and who has testified in depositions, arbitration, hearingS, and trials. I have performed as a consulting and testifying expert in intellectual property and copyright cases, representing parties ranging across inventor plaintiffs, small organizations that own intellectual property, to large corporate plaintiffs and defendants. and copyright cases.
• Preparing Patent Materials. I have industrial experience in creating patent applications: At Bookface.com 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, my job was to understand all of the key technology in the company, 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 expertise 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 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 superficial analysis of a disk).
• Other Areas of the Law. Finally I have worked on a few cases that are slightly different than computer forensics, copyright, or intellectual property. In these situations there is a fundamental computer element involved: For example, in the Religious Technology Center vs F.A.C.T.Net the case was based on First Amendment rights, and my role evolved to Special Master to provide an unbiased understanding of the case and the technology to the Judge Kane. In Patterson vs Evans, et a., the base issue was libel and slander; both parties used legal experts to examine the the actions of the plaintiff, and of the materials published by the defendant.

Please see the list of cases for additional 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.