From The San Francisco Chronicle
SAP ordered to pay Oracle $1.3 billion
By James Temple and Benny Evangelista
A federal jury in Oakland handed software giant Oracle Corp. one of the largest awards ever for a copyright-infringement case on Tuesday, determining that rival SAP AG should pay $1.3 billion for a defunct division's unauthorized use of the Redwood City company's products.
The eye-popping figure should strongly dissuade blatant misappropriation of technology in the software industry and beyond, but could also force innocent companies to consider more carefully whether their products are too similar to those of rivals, some legal observers said.
"It certainly will get attention around the world," said Pamela Samuelson, a professor at UC Berkeley School of Law [and School of Information]. "Anybody thinking about doing something shady will be less likely to do it after that level of damages."...