Versata is the creator of Automotive Configuration Manager, a program that tells automakers whether any of the parts in any possible vehicle configuration might be incompatible. Ford had used this since 1998, but ended its contact with Versata at the end of 2014.
Now, Versata said, a “super configurator” that Ford made to calculate which car configurations sell best infringes on their intellectual property by using some elements of the Automotive Configuration Manager. Ford argues that its product “approaches vehicle configuration very differently” than Versata’s. They have until June 29 to formally respond to the lawsuit.