A U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on
Tuesday
found that SAP has stolen Oracle's intellectual property software and ordered SAP to pay $1.3
billion.
According to the court, a SAP subsidiary stole a stockpile of
software and customer-support documents from password-protected
Oracle websites.
Oracle issued the following statement, attributable to Oracle
President Safra Catz:
"For more than three years, SAP stole thousands of copies of
Oracle software and then resold that software and related
services to Oracle's own customers. Right before the trial began,
SAP admitted its guilt and liability; then the trial made it
clear that SAPs most senior executives were aware of the illegal
activity from the very beginning. As a result, a United States
Federal Court has ordered SAP to pay Oracle $1.3 billion. This is
the largest amount ever awarded for software piracy."
SAP issued the following statement:
"We are, of course, disappointed by this verdict and will pursue
all available options, including post-trial motions and appeal if
necessary. This will unfortunately be a prolonged process and we
continue to hope that the matter can be resolved appropriately
without more years of litigation. The mark of a leading company
is the way it handles its mistakes. As stated in court, we regret
the actions of TomorrowNow, we have accepted liability, and have
been willing to fairly compensate Oracle. Throughout this matter,
our customers, employees and partners have stood by us and, for
that, we are grateful. Our focus now is looking forward, helping
our customers be best-run businesses, and extending our legacy of
industry leadership well into the future. We thank the jury for
its diligent service through this lengthy trial and the Court for
its supervision of this complex case."
The penalty is one of the largest on record for software piracy,
and has the potential to reshape the business software landscape
because of the extent of the damage to the pocketbook and
reputation of one of its biggest players.