Oracle's stems from the actions of a now defunct SAP subsidiary called TomorrowNow, which provided third-party support services to Oracle customers.

Oracle claimed that TomorrowNow infringed on and stole Oracle's intellectual property. The database vendor had initially sought $4 billion in damages. The jury's $1.3 billion award was the largest ever in an IP theft case.

SAP initially insisted that it knew nothing about the IP theft. However, after close to three and a half years of litigation, SAP announced that it Oracle's claim for contributory infringement.

that some of its executives may have known about TomorrowNow's illegal activitities.

So while the outcome of the case was never in doubt, surprised many.