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Bloomberg

SAP AG (SAP), the world's largest maker of business-applications software, was told by a jury to pay $345 million for infringing a Versata Software Inc. patent.

The federal jury in Marshall, Texas, said today that closely held Versata was owed compensation for sales of certain SAP enterprise and customer relationship-management software sold prior to May 2010. The jury awarded $260 million for lost profits and $85 million as a reasonable royalty.

The damages are more than the $138.6 million Walldorf, Germany-based SAP was ordered to pay Versata in a 2009 verdict that was thrown out. U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Everingham had ordered a new trial because of rulings by an appeals court specializing in patent law that set new rules on how financial penalties should be calculated.

Versata will seek an injunction to stop the infringement, Scott Cole, a lawyer with McKool Smith who represented the Austin, Texas-based company, said following the verdict.

"This has been four hard fought years, and the evidence clearly shows that SAP's use of our intellectual property caused harm," Cole said. "It was a valuable invention."

McKool Smith Attorney Scott Cole quoted in Bloomberg article

SAP May Appeal

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The case is Versata Software Inc. v. SAP America Inc., 07cv153, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas (Marshall).

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-13/sap-told-to-pay-345-million-for-infringing-versata-patent-2-.html

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