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Versata files complaint with European Commission against SAP |
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US software company Versata Software, Inc., has filed a complaint with the European Commission on Tuesday alleging that SAP AG illegally excluded it from selling to the three quarters of the world's largest companies that use SAP’s enterprise software platform, withholding information necessary to interoperate.  Austin, Texas-based Versata, at one time, worked successfully with Walldorf, Germany based SAP. Versata's said its pricing software (named "Pricer") was popular with customers of SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. In its statement, Versata said that a SAP executive noticed Pricer was “raking in the cash among the SAP customers,” according to documents filed in a patent case. SAP took three steps that excluded Versata and reserved the pricing software market to itself, refusing to share interoperability information, cloning Versata's Pricer and then bundled its cloned pricing software with its dominant ERP product. Versata says SAP's actions violated Article 102 of the European Union treaty by foreclosing competition, eliminating choice and competition-driven innovation, thereby harming consumers. “Versata asks at minimum that the Commission require SAP provide interoperability information, and that it unbundle its own pricing configuration software from its dominant ERP software,” said Thomas Vinje, counsel for Versata. "The Commission should also impose an appropriate fine." The Versata complaint cites the Microsoft case, in which many of the same tactics were found to be illegal. Microsoft paid fines of EUR 1.6 billion and was forced to change its business practices. Versata, formerly known as Trilogy, was long recognized as a pioneer and leader in pricing software. Once Versata became successful in the late 1990s SAP changed interfaces , which had the effect of “breaking” communication with Versata's software. SAP then told clients Versata software would not work properly. Thereafter, SAP bundled in its own, less flexible, clone of Versata's software, selling the package for a single price. That clone relied on Versata's patented technology. Versata said a US District Court jury in Marshall, Texas, last year found SAP to have infringed on Versata's patents and awarded $139 million in damages. That case is awaiting a ruling on several post-trial matters and the entry of judgment by the US District Court, the company said. |
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