We continue our exploration of the SAP Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement action. Today we go full geek in a look at the fine and penalty and most importantly what the fine and penalty communicate about what the...more
This week we are taking a deep dive into the SAP Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement action. In it, SAP agreed to pay the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approximately...more
A careful reading of the DOJ and SEC settlement documents for the SAP case will puzzle you. I know I am scratching my head trying to make sense of the whole picture here. There are a number of significant indicators of a...more
When it comes to FCPA enforcement and expectations, DOJ has moved the goalposts. Some would argue that DOJ has been consistent all along. The truth, like most issues, lies somewhere between the extremes....more
Life is always filled with surprises. Just when we thought 2023 was a “slow” FCPA enforcement year, DOJ and SEC announced a large enforcement action against SAP for approximately $220 million for FCPA violations in South...more
Here’s how the SAP Community can mitigate the risk of a widespread cybersecurity incident involving their SAP systems....more
We wrote about this case six months ago, regarding InvestPic's appeal to the Federal Circuit over having its patent invalided under 35 U.S.C. § 101 in the Northern District of Texas. InvestPic did not get the outcome it was...more
We seem to be in whipsaw territory, as a tech selloff on Monday spread into a “broad retreat” that led to the Dow tumbling 600 points....more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found a software patent directed to a technique of analyzing financial data with resampled statistical methods to be invalid under § 101, because the claims, although...more
SAP America, Inc. (SAP) filed a declaratory judgment action in the Northern District of Texas, alleging that U.S. Patent No. 6,349,291 of InvestPic, LLC (InvestPic) was invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The District Court...more
Software giant’s new pricing model attempts to address customer concerns about liability exposure due to “indirect access.” SAP’s new pricing model is a big step forward in addressing the uncertainty and confusion relating...more
CONTEXT, a market research firm, projects that the worldwide 3D printer market (including printers, materials, and ancillary services) will grow to $17.8 billion over the next five years. One reason for the rapid expansion...more
DOJ and SEC Announce Settlement with PTC, Inc. in FCPA Case Involving SEC’s First Individual Deferred Prosecution Agreement - On February 16, 2016, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S....more
ANTICORRUPTION DEVELOPMENTS - Convicted Printing Company Ordered to Pay £2.2 Million - On January 8, 2016, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced that Smith & Ouzman Ltd, a U.K. security printing company, was...more
A CD or not a CD, That is the Question… That the Auditors Should Have Answered - A headline-grabbing SEC enforcement action last week against BDO USA and several of its national partners may lead audit firms to insist on...more
One of the most difficult stories of the Bible for me was always that of God and Abraham. But somehow this song explained it for me as it deals with some unusual problems that can be solved out on Highway 61, which is a...more
When DOJ acts, they like to make a splash. While the FCPA Paparazzi have been lamenting the “slow down” in FCPA enforcement actions and the increase in case closings, DOJ still makes its mark when it acts, and I expect more...more
DISTRICT COURT CASES - Attorney’s Fees Awarded Against Plaintiff for Inadequate Pre-Filing Investigation and Meritless Post-Discovery Positions - A judge in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of...more
On July 9, 2015, a divided Federal Circuit held in Versata Development Group, Inc. v. SAP America, Inc., No. 14-1194, that it can review Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) determinations that a patent is a "covered business...more
Addressing the patent eligibility of claims from two challenged covered business method patents (CBMs), the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB or Board) found the challenged claims to be...more
Oracle Corporation v. SAP AG - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has explained that a copyright owner is not required to show that it actually would have granted a license to the defendant before it can...more
SAP America, Inc. v. Arunachalam - Addressing allegations of impropriety of district court judges that purportedly led to a “tainted” claim construction ruling, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and...more
Addressing declaratory judgment jurisdiction based infringement allegations against customers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s finding of...more
On June 11, 2013, the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) issued its first final decision in a covered business method patent (CBM) proceeding, in SAP America, Inc. v. Versata Development Group, Inc. (CBM2012-00001)....more
The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office recently issued its first decision under the America Invents Act’s new system for reviewing the validity of patents. See SAP America, Inc. v. Versata Dev. Group, Inc., Case CBM2012-00001...more