Oracle's win not seen dialing up phone lawsuits

NEW YORK, USA: The record-breaking $1.3 billion verdict Oracle won on Tuesday in its copyright case against SAP sent shockwaves through the technology world, but observers said it was unlikely to have a direct impact on high-profile litigation over mobile devices.

Over the last several months, major technology companies such as Microsoft Corp , Nokia Corp, Apple Inc, and Motorola Inc have traded lawsuits involving patents crucial to the architecture of smart phones and other electronic products.

Those cases are expected to be hotly contested and will mostly turn on interpretations of patent law.

Oracle's lawsuit against SAP was quite different: the facts were essentially uncontested, and the case involved allegations of copyright violation and theft.

In its lawsuit filed in Oakland, California, federal court, Oracle claimed that SAP and its TomorrowNow subsidiary engaged in a massive conspiracy to steal thousands of copies of Oracle's software.

Shortly after the trial began earlier this month, Reuters and others reported that SAP agreed to pay $120 million in exchange for Oracle's promise not to pursue punitive damages. That settlement was filed under seal.

On the eve of trial, SAP admitted to liability for copyright infringement, so the jury was instructed only to decide how much Oracle was owed in actual damages. SAP, represented by Jones Day, argued that the figure should have been $40 million.

Oracle, represented by Boies, Schiller & Flexner and Bingham McCutchen, sought at least $1.65 billion.

Aside from the unique circumstances of the case, Eric Goldman, an associate professor at the Santa Clara University School of Law, said extracting lessons from a jury verdict is difficult under any circumstances.

"It's very hard for jury trials to have any precedential effect on other cases," he said.

But Oracle may benefit psychologically the next time it steps into a courtroom. The software company has sued Google in federal court in San Francisco, alleging that Google's Android mobile operating system infringes Oracle's Java software patents. Geoff Howard of Bingham McCutchen, who made opening statements for Oracle in the SAP trial, said that while that case was unusual because it involved "unprecedented theft," the verdict would resonate.

"I think it sends a very strong message to the entire industry that you can't take something that isn't yours and expect to get away with it," he said.

SAP said in a statement that it was disappointed in the verdict and would pursue "all available options, including post-trial motions and appeal if necessary." But it also said that it continued to hope it could resolve the matter "without more years of litigation."