Judge: SAP must pay Oracle interest, too

SAN FRANCISCO - A judge has ordered German software maker SAP AG to pay interest to Oracle Corp. in addition to $1.3 billion in damages for stealing software and customer-support documents from password-protected Oracle websites.

In an order Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Phyllis Hamilton concluded that the judgment against SAP should include an award of prejudgment interest.

The judge did not specify the interest amount, but said it will be determined by a calculation based on the weekly average one-year constant maturity Treasury yield, compounded annually. Oracle had been seeking $211.7 million in interest.

SAP has U.S. headquarters in Newtown Square, Delaware County, where it employs about 2,000.

Oracle, based in Redwood Shores, Calif., is the leading maker of database software, which helps companies organize their information. Its aggressive expansion into business applications has forced Oracle into a face off with SAP, the leader in that space.

Last month, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California found that SAP plundered software and documents from Oracle's secured websites and awarded Oracle $1.3 billion in damages.

SAP admitted that a now-shuttered subsidiary was secretly siphoning off instruction manuals and technical specifications for Oracle's software. But its lawyers argued that Oracle's claims of injury were exaggerated.

Shares of Oracle lost 1 cent to $31.56 at midday. SAP's American depository shares were up 17 cents to $50.64.