Oracle sued SAP in 2007 over illegal downloads the company's former subsidiary, TomorrowNow, made in the course of delivering reduced-price service to Oracle software customers. SAP has accepted liability for TomorrowNow's actions, but called the award's size unreasonable and so far, hasn't ruled out an appeal.

The judgment was based on "hypothetical" fees that SAP would have had to pay if it licensed Oracle's software legally. on the $1.3 billion dating as far back as Jan. 2005.

"The jury's award, if it stands, more than adequately accomplishes the goals of the Copyright Act, as it at least fully compensates, and, really, overcompensates Oracle (particularly considering that by receiving its money today, Oracle completely avoided the economic collapse of 2007," SAP's Dec. 23 filing in US District Court for the Northern District of California states.

SAP's filing also took issue with the calculation method used by Oracle's expert witness to determine the interest amount.

"If the Court were to choose to award interest ... it should, like so many other courts, follow 28 U.S.C. § 1961 and award interest at a flat rate equal to the weekly average 1-year constant maturity Treasury yield (which is currently .30%), compounded annually."