Press Release SaaS

GoDaddy ordered to pay $170m for patent infringement

• ByStartupStory     |    November 11, 2025

A Delaware federal jury has ordered GoDaddy to pay $170 million to Express Mobile after finding that the company’s website-building tools infringed two web-design patents, concluding a multi-week trial and delivering one of the year’s bigger IP verdicts against a mainstream internet platform. GoDaddy has said it disagrees with the decision and plans to seek post-trial relief and a potential appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, setting up a next phase focused on claim construction, infringement evidence, damages methodology, and any willfulness findings that could affect the ultimate payout.

What the verdict covers

• The case centers on GoDaddy’s site-builder features that a Delaware jury concluded practiced Express Mobile’s patented methods without authorization, resulting in a $170 million damages award.

• Express Mobile, founded by former IBM engineer Steven Rempell, has waged a years-long enforcement campaign over browser-based web authoring and content management patents, including suits against several large platforms.

Next steps

• Post-trial motions are expected on judgment as a matter of law, interest, and potential adjustments to damages, followed by an appeal timeline if final judgment is entered, with the Federal Circuit likely to scrutinize legal standards and evidentiary sufficiency.

• Outcomes in related disputes have been mixed, with GoDaddy previously prevailing in a separate jury trial and other Express Mobile verdicts facing appellate reversals, underscoring the volatility of software patent litigation.

Broader context

• The verdict highlights growing IP risks for platforms embedding complex authoring and design tools, as juries assess the value of software features widely used in consumer-facing products.

• Legal and investor attention will be on whether the court enhances damages for willfulness and how appellate review addresses key claim construction issues that could shape the case’s trajectory.

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