LAS VEGAS - Thursday, October 13th 2016 [ME NewsWire]Litigation Summary and Appeal
In January 2010, Oracle sued Rimini Street alleging, among other things, that Rimini had infringed Oracle’s copyrights while engaging in software support for Oracle’s PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, and Siebel products. Rimini Street changed its processes no later than July 2014 in response to Court rulings in the litigation. The trial started in September 2015, and the Jury rendered its verdict in October 2015 and awarded Oracle $50 million for “innocent” copyright infringement and violation of certain computer access laws. (Oracle had sought more than $250 million in damages.) The Court has now ruled on all post-trial motions and awarded Oracle approximately $74 million in fees, costs, and interest, and ordered Rimini Street to refrain from conduct previously adjudicated as unlawful.
Rimini Street will take responsibility for its past practices and pay a one-time fair market license fee of $35.6 million awarded to Oracle for innocently infringing certain of its software copyrights. Rimini Street plans to pursue an appeal of the other aspects of the judgment, including the $88 million balance of the total $124 million awarded to Oracle, as well as the injunction. Rimini Street believes it has strong bases for its appeal, which is likely to continue for several more years before a final outcome.
Third Party Support Lawful for Oracle Licensees to Purchase and Use
Oracle software licensees have free market choice to shop a variety of different support vendors, services offerings and pricing models. Detailed testimony and admissions provided by Oracle executives and witnesses in the 2015 trial confirmed that third-party support is lawful for Oracle licensees to purchase and use. The evidence presented at trial supported several important principles underlying Rimini Street’s operations and current service offerings: (a) Oracle licensees can choose not to renew their Oracle annual support; (b) Oracle licensees can select, switch to, and use a third-party support provider or self-support instead of renewing and paying Oracle for annual support services; (c) third parties like Rimini Street can legally offer third-party support options to Oracle licensees; and (d) support services can be provided to clients on their sites directly or utilizing a remote access connection.
Jury Found “Innocent” (Not “Willful”) Infringement
The Jury found that Rimini Street did not “willfully” infringe Oracle’s software copyrights, and further, found all infringement to be “innocent.” The Court instructed the Jury that the definition of “innocent infringement” means Rimini Street “was not aware that its acts constituted infringement” and “had no reason to believe that its acts constituted infringement.” The Jury also found Rimini Street violated computer access laws arising from Rimini Street’s use of automated download processes for a brief period contrary to Oracle’s website terms of use in effect at the time. The jury rejected Oracle’s claims of improper business conduct, including inducing breach of contract and interference with Oracle’s customer relationships. The jury also rejected Oracle’s claims for lost profits and punitive damages.
Rimini Changes Processes
Rimini Street completed the transition to non-infringing alternative processes no later than July 2014, and developed a revised PeopleSoft software development process and tools to ensure compliance with the Court’s decisions. In addition, by early 2009, Rimini Street had stopped using automated tools to download software from Oracle servers in compliance with Oracle’s then-current website terms of use.
Payment of Final Judgment
Rimini Street intends to pay all required amounts, pending appeal, with a combination of financing, insurance proceeds, and its own cash.
Injunction Order
The Court has issued a permanent injunction related to Rimini Street’s provision of support for Oracle’s PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, Siebel, and Database product lines. The injunction does not prohibit Rimini Street’s ongoing or future provision of support for these product lines, but rather constrains the manner in which Rimini Street may continue to provide support services for these product lines. Rimini Street has already filed an appeal of the injunction order, and will seek to have it overturned on the grounds that it is legally flawed, vague, and overbroad.
43 Consecutive Quarters of Growth, Global Success and Disruptive Innovation
Rimini Street has successfully provided independent maintenance services to over 1,600 signed clients around the world since 2005, including more than 135 Fortune 500 and Global 100 companies. The Company has reported, including its just-completed fiscal 2016 Q3 preliminary results, 43 consecutive quarters of revenue growth, a revenue run-rate of more than $163 million and a compound annual growth rate of 38% since 2012. Rimini Street is planning an IPO in 2017, subject to market conditions and Board approval.
“Rimini Street has spent more than a decade re-inventing enterprise software support, and will continue disrupting the outdated, high-cost, poor service, vendor support model that no longer meets client needs,” said Seth A Ravin, CEO, Rimini Street. “Enterprises need a support service that enables innovation agility and maximizes return on investment, cost savings and value in their IT spend. By switching to Rimini Street’s award-winning support, clients can achieve all of these objectives and also enjoy premium services such as full support for all customizations and add-ons at no extra cost.”
About Rimini Street, Inc.
Rimini Street is the global leader in providing independent enterprise software support services. The company has redefined enterprise support services since 2005 with an innovative, award-winning program that enables Oracle and SAP licensees to save up to 90 percent on total support costs. Clients can remain on their current software release without any required upgrades for a minimum of 15 years. More than 1,600 global, Fortune 500, midmarket, and public sector organizations from a broad range of industries have selected Rimini Street as their trusted, independent support provider. To learn more, please visithttp://www.riministreet.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements. The words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “expect,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and are based on various assumptions. If the risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. Rimini Street assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which speak only as of the date of this press release.
Rimini Street and the Rimini Street logo are trademarks of Rimini Street, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Copyright © 2016. All rights reserved.
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