The Future of Website-Building Technology After the GoDaddy Verdict

A Delaware federal jury has ruled that GoDaddy, the internet domain registrar. It must pay $170 million to Express Mobile for infringing its patents related to website-building technology. The verdict was made public on Friday.

The jury sided with Express Mobile, finding that GoDaddy’s web-design tools violated two of the company’s patents. The Express Mobile lawyer Jay Nuttall called the decision “an outstanding outcome for our client, which confirms the value of Express Mobile’s fundamental patents.”

In response, GoDaddy issued a statement saying it disagrees with the verdict and intends to “vigorously contest it in district court and on appeal if necessary.”

Novato, California-based Express Mobile holds patents in internet and mobile technologies. It developed by the company’s founder, former IBM engineer Steven Rempell. Express Mobile initially filed the lawsuit against GoDaddy in 2019. It claiming that the company’s website-building tools infringed on patents covering similar technologies.

GoDaddy, headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, denied the allegations and challenged the validity of the patents. The company previously won a separate jury trial concerning related Express Mobile claims in 2023.

This case follows a pattern for Express Mobile, which won a $40 million patent verdict against e-commerce platform Shopify in 2022. However, that verdict was later overturned by a Delaware federal judge.

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