In a highly publicized case, SAP has been ordered to pay Oracle $1.3 billion for a SAP subsidiary’s theft of customer-support documents and software in an attempt to hijack Oracle’s customers.  This is one of the largest amounts – if not the largest amount – ever awarded by a U.S. court for software copyright infringement.  The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California agreed that the value of the stolen intellectual property was vast and that the damages award was appropriate due to the vital importance of copyrights in the software industry.  SAP had admitted liability, but it claimed that it should only pay for money it made from the 358 customers it gained with the stolen data. 

Oracle’s complaint indicated that SAP swept vast amounts of Oracle software products and proprietary information onto SAP’s servers.  The claims against SAP recited in the complaint included violations of the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and California Computer Data Access and Fraud Act, intentional and negligent interference with prospective economic advantage, unfair competition, and other civil claims.

The facts in the complaint indicate a systematic attack on Oracle’s systems in which thousands of documents and programs appear to have been stolen.  It also appears that SAP did little to conceal its activities.  While the legal issues involved in the case were not particularly novel or complex, this ruling could have a significant effect on the software industry. In a world where it is becoming increasingly important for different vendors’ products to work together, having two players of Oracle’s and SAP’s size embroiled in a contentious and ongoing feud could spell trouble for businesses using their products.