SAP takes plea deal with US authorities over further TomorrowNow charges

Former SAP subsidiary TomorrowNow has pleaded guilty to charges brought by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) in a criminal case over theft of information from Oracle.

The case relates to 11 incidents in which staff at the now defunct firm accessed Oracle's computers to obtain confidential information on its software, and one count of criminal copyright infringement, as outlined in legal documents seen by V3.

"TomorrowNow did knowingly and with intent to defraud access a protected computer belonging to Oracle and ... by means of such conduct did ... obtain something of value, to wit, Oracle software and related information belonging to Oracle," the documents read.

Details of the plea have not been made public but are likely to be revealed on 14 September when the case will be heard.

As the action has been brought against TomorrowNow, which was closed down by SAP, the German firm has liability in the case. A spokesperson said that SAP hopes the guilty plea will bring the case to a close.

"We have been working with the DoJ and we have reached an agreement to resolve the matter. We now look forward to what we think is a fair and final resolution," the spokesperson said.

Oracle has been made aware of the latest turn, and has the opportunity to address the court at the hearing. V3 contacted Oracle for its response but had not received a reply at the time of publication.

SAP has already been forced to pay Oracle damages of $272m, reduced from $1.3bn, in a civil action that saw chief executive Larry Ellison take the stand.