Watch PLUS today. They won the first phase of a patent infringment lawsuit against Ariba....
(ePlus has been involved in a major share repurchasing program over the past 3 years. See post #3049)...
Verdicts Rendered in First Phase of Ariba Patent Infringement Trial
SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 8, 2005--Ariba(R), Inc. (Nasdaq:ARBA), the leading Spend Management solutions provider, today announced that it has been found liable by a jury in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia for infringing three U.S. patents held by ePlus, Inc., a company based in Herndon, Virginia. On February 7, 2005, the jury declined to invalidate the three patents at issue and found that Ariba infringed certain claims contained in the three patents. Ariba believes the findings of the jury are erroneous and intends to vigorously pursue an appeal of the verdicts. In the meantime, Ariba intends to quickly provide its customers with software updates designed to avoid the alleged infringement.
ePlus filed the infringement action on May 26, 2004 claiming that certain features in three of Ariba's products, Ariba Buyer, Ariba Marketplace and Ariba Category Procurement, infringed claims in the three patents, and the trial began on January 24, 2005. The trial judge bifurcated the trial into two phases, the first to determine the validity of the patents and whether Ariba's products infringed those patents and the second to try damages-related issues. Yesterday's findings were only as to the first phase of the trial, and Ariba expects that the damages-related phase will begin on February 9, 2005.
ePlus claims royalty damages of $76.0 million to $98.0 million. Based on the jury's finding of willful infringement, the trial judge has the discretion to enhance any award up to three times the jury's award of damages. Ariba disputes that it is liable for any damages and disputes ePlus's calculation as to the amount of the damages. However, Ariba cannot predict the outcome of the damages phase of the trial, whether it will be successful on appeal, or whether it will be successful in obtaining a stay of any injunction against further infringement pending appeal.
About Ariba, Inc.
Ariba, Inc. is the leading provider of Spend Management solutions to help companies realize rapid and sustainable bottom line results. Successful companies around the world in every industry use Ariba Spend Management software and services. Ariba can be contacted in the U.S. at 650-390-1000 or at www.ariba.com.
Copyright (C) 1996 - 2005 Ariba, Inc.
Ariba and the Ariba logo are registered trademarks of Ariba, Inc. Ariba Spend Management, Ariba Spend Management. Find it. Get it. Keep it., Ariba. This is Spend Management, Ariba Solutions Delivery, Ariba Analysis, Ariba Buyer, Ariba Category Management, Ariba Category Procurement, Ariba Contract Compliance, Ariba Contracts, Ariba Contract Management, Ariba Contract Workbench, Ariba Data Enrichment, Ariba eForms, Ariba Sourcing, Ariba Invoice, Ariba Travel & Expense, Ariba Workforce, Ariba Supplier Network, Ariba Supplier Performance Management, Ariba PunchOut, Ariba QuickSource, PO-Flip, Ariba Settlement and Ariba Spend Management Knowledge Base are trademarks or service marks of Ariba, Inc. Ariba Proprietary and Confidential. All rights reserved. Patents pending. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
