Oracle awarded $1.3 billion in SAP lawsuit

24.11.2010
A jury has awarded Oracle US$1.3 billion in damages in its corporate theft lawsuit against SAP, a blow to the German applications vendor, which had argued it should pay no more than $40 million for the software stolen by its TomorrowNow subsidiary.

Members of legal team embraced as the verdict was read in the U.S. District Court in Oakland, California, according to a person in the courtroom. had been presented Monday afternoon, so the jury took less than a full day to reach its decision.

It was not the full amount Oracle had asked for, but still considerably more than SAP had said it should have to pay. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison testified two weeks ago that SAP should be made to pay as much as $4 billion to cover the cost of the stolen software.

In the end, the amount awarded was closer to the sum suggested by Oracle's damages expert, who put the figure at $1.7 billion. SAP's damages expert had told the jury that SAP should have to pay about $40 million in damages, to cover Oracle's lost profits.

"We are, of course, disappointed by this verdict and will pursue all available options, including post-trial motions and appeal if necessary," SAP said in a statement.