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Business software legal dispute resolution between SAP and Oracle - Global Banking & Finance Review
Image depicting the legal resolution between SAP and Oracle over copyright issues, highlighting SAP's payment of $359 million to settle a long-standing dispute regarding intellectual property theft.
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SAP TO PAY ORACLE $359M TO END BITTER LEGAL BATTLE

Published by Gbaf News

Posted on November 15, 2014

1 min read
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M&A Banking Digital banking

SAP Settles Oracle Lawsuit for $359M

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Business software maker SAP is paying rival Oracle $359 million to settle a bitter battle over the theft of copyrighted instruction manuals and other technical information.

Background of the Oracle v. SAP Dispute

The resolution disclosed in a Thursday court filing comes seven years after Oracle Corp. sued SAP AG for a scheme engineered by a small software services company called TomorrowNow. SAP, which is based in Walldorf, Germany, bought TomorrowNow for $10 million.

Jury Awards and Damages Reduction Details

A jury initially awarded Oracle $1.3 billion in damages, but a federal judge lowered the amount to $272 million.

Court Rulings and Final Settlement Terms

An appeals court in August rejected Oracle’s request to reinstate the original damages and ruled the Redwood Shores, California, company was entitled to $356.7 million in damages or a new trial.

Oracle chose to accept $356.7 million in damages plus $2.5 million in interest.

Key Takeaways

  • SAP will pay Oracle approximately $359M to settle the TomorrowNow copyright lawsuit in lieu of further litigation.
  • The agreement stems from a long-running dispute that began in 2007 when Oracle sued SAP over its subsidiary TomorrowNow’s illegal downloading of Oracle’s support materials.
  • An appeals court determined damages at $356.7M plus $2.5M interest, which Oracle accepted instead of pursuing a new trial.
  • SAP previously paid Oracle $120M towards legal fees and other costs as part of earlier agreements.

References

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is SAP paying Oracle $359 million?
SAP is settling a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Oracle, related to its subsidiary TomorrowNow illegally downloading Oracle support materials.
How was the final amount determined?
A jury initially awarded $1.3B, later reduced to $272M by a judge; in 2014 an appeals court ruled damages should be $356.7M plus $2.5M interest, which Oracle accepted.
What was TomorrowNow's role?
TomorrowNow, acquired by SAP, improperly downloaded Oracle’s copyrighted instruction manuals and technical data to offer lower‑cost support to Oracle customers.

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