SAP to pay $20m fine for theft of Oracle software in TomorrowNow case

German software firm SAP has agreed to pay a $20m fine to the US government after former subsidiary TomorrowNow was found to have used software owned by rival Oracle without permission.

SAP filed the plea last week to draw the long-running saga to a close, and is already facing a fine of $272m in a civil case brought by Oracle. This fine was originally set at a whopping $1.3bn, but was later reduced.

In a statement, SAP said that it is glad to have reached an agreement with Oracle and the US Attorney's Office.

"We believe that the resolution of this investigation is fair. We are pleased to have come to an appropriate conclusion of this process," the firm said.

"No other SAP entity will face charges arising out of the Office's investigation. The plea agreement was approved by the US District Court today."

V3 contacted Oracle for its reaction to the decision, but had received no reply at the time of publication.

The ruling should end one of the most bitter legal battles in the technology world of recent years.

Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison took the stand during the case, and Oracle attempted to subpoena incoming HP chief executive Léo Apotheker, who was previously at SAP.

Oracle's lawyers are not done yet, however. The company is also involved in a high-level dispute with Google over the use of Java in Android, alleging that Google actively chose not to pay to use the technology.