SAP fined $1.3 billion on Oracle copyright infringement case

[News_Editor]

SAP fined $1.3 billion on Oracle copyright infringement case

2010-11-25 02:44:29 GMT+7 (ICT)

SAN FRANCISCO (BNO NEWS) -- SAP on Wednesday was issued a $1.3 billion fine for a copyright infringement case brought by Oracle.

"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," said Oracle President Safra Catz.

"Right before the trial began, SAP admitted its guilt and liability; then the trial made it clear that SAP's most senior executives were aware of the illegal activity from the very beginning," Catz added.

Oracle filed suit against SAP in 2007, describing an "unusually heavy download activity" on its password-protected customer Web sites in 2006. The company noticed that large amounts of downloads from SAP, adding that for four consecutive days, 1,800 items were downloaded on a daily basis, compared to its regular 20 per month.

In the testimony, SAP's $10 million acquisition of TomorrowNow, a low-cost provider of software support services, seemed to be described as a highly suspect operation, which stole documents and software from Oracle’s servers.

SAP co-Chief Executive Bill McDermott admitted on the stand that the company should have been more vigilant and he apologized.

The fine represents one of the biggest copyright infringement awards ever.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2010-11-25