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Patent problem

May 17, 2011

A US jury has ordered German software giant SAP to pay millions in damages to a Texas-based company for patent infringement. It's the second major lawsuit SAP has lost in six months.

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A montage showing the scales of justice, legal texts and a gavel
SAP has spent a lot of time in US courts over the past yearImage: fotolia/junial enterprises

Business software giant SAP has been ordered to pay $345 million (244 million euros) in damages to a Texan company, Versata Software, for patent infringement.

The verdict, announced on Friday by a federal jury in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, found that SAP's software breached a pricing technology patent held by Versata.

It awarded the Austin-based firm $260 million for lost profits and $85 million for "reasonable royalties."

On Monday, SAP said it was considering challenging the decision.

"Filing and defending patent infringement cases has become a regular practice in our industry," the German company said in a written statement on Tuesday.

"Friday's verdict, which we don't believe is appropriate, is one step in a long legal process."

Second setback

The headquarters of software company SAP AG in Walldorf, southwestern Germany,
Walldorf-based SAP may still appeal the US court's decisionImage: AP

The Versata verdict is the second legal blow to SAP in six months.

In November a US court ordered the company pay its American rival Oracle $1.3 billion (933 million euros) in damages in a corporate theft lawsuit linked to the unauthorized use of that company's software.

That case focused on illegal downloads made by a former SAP subsidiary, TomorrowNow, which offered lower-cost support for Oracle software.

While SAP has admitted TomorrowNow acted improperly, it disputes the scale of damages awarded to Oracle.

Author: Sam Edmonds (dpa, dapd)
Editor: Martin Kuebler

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