Court Affirms Ruling that MicroStrategy’s ‘Much More Sophisticated’
Products Do Not Infringe Business Objects’ ‘Semantic Layer’ Patent
MCLEAN, Va., Sept. 14 LAWFUEL – Law & Legal Jobs Network — MicroStrategy(R)
Incorporated (Nasdaq: MSTR), a leading worldwide provider of business
intelligence software, today announced that it has won an appellate court
decision affirming the dismissal of the sole remaining claim in a lawsuit
brought by Business Objects, S.A. (Nasdaq: BOBJ) in October 2001 alleging
that MicroStrategy infringed United States Patent No. 5,555,403, entitled
“Relational Database Access System Using Semantically Dynamic Objects”
(“the ‘403 patent”) owned by Business Objects.
In a unanimous opinion issued September 13, 2006, the United States
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a 2005 summary judgment
ruling of a federal district court in San Francisco that found that
MicroStrategy’s products use a “much more sophisticated approach to
generating queries” than the invention claimed by Business Objects, and
that the consequence of this greater sophistication is that MicroStrategy’s
products have “greater and improved functionality” and generate “faster and
more efficient queries” than Business Objects’ system.
The Federal Circuit
affirmed the district court’s holding that MicroStrategy’s products do not infringe the ‘403 patent as a result of these “numerous,” “important,” and “substantial” differences, and affirmed the district court’s dismissal of
Business Objects’ lawsuit, which sought injunctive relief and damages in
excess of $100 million, with prejudice. The Federal Circuit is located in
Washington, D.C., and is the appellate court that hears all patent cases in
the United States.
“This is a great victory for MicroStrategy and its customers,
employees, and shareholders,” said Jonathan F. Klein, MicroStrategy’s Vice
President, Law & General Counsel. “We have invested many millions of
dollars to develop and deliver the industry’s most advanced and scalable
business intelligence solutions.
The Federal Circuit’s ruling confirms the
substantial differences between MicroStrategy’s enterprise-class technology
and the basic ideas embodied in Business Objects’ products and ‘403 patent
filed more than a decade ago,” continued Klein.
About MicroStrategy Incorporated
Founded in 1989, MicroStrategy is a global leader in business
intelligence (BI) technology. MicroStrategy provides integrated reporting,
analysis, and monitoring software that helps leading organizations
worldwide make better business decisions every day. Companies choose
MicroStrategy for its advanced technical capabilities, sophisticated
analytics, and superior data and user scalability.
More information about
MicroStrategy (Nasdaq: MSTR) is available at http://www.microstrategy.com.
MicroStrategy and MicroStrategy Business Intelligence Platform are
either trademarks or registered trademarks of MicroStrategy Incorporated in
the United States and certain other countries. Other product and company
names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
This press release may include statements that may constitute “forward-
looking statements,” including its plans for pursuing future legal claims
against Business Objects, and statements containing the words “believe,”
“estimate,” “project,” “expect” or similar expressions. Forward-looking
statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results of MicroStrategy Incorporated and its subsidiaries
(collectively, the “Company”) to differ materially from the forward-looking statements.
Factors that could contribute to such differences include: changes the Company’s evaluation of the likelihood of success on various claims, the legal costs necessary to pursue such claims and the potential
magnitude of any recovery of damages relating to such claims; general
economic conditions; and other risks detailed in the Company’s registration statements and periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
By making these forward-looking statements, the Company
undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or
changes after the date of this release.
Contact:
MicroStrategy Incorporated
Investor Relations
ir@microstrategy.com
