Patent problem
May 17, 2011
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 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