CARY – SAS says it will continue to seek to enforce a $79 million judgment against World Programming over intellectual property and copyright issues despite a setback in a United Kingdom court on Thursday.

“We are aware of the UK-specific decision related to a U.S. court judgment against WPL,” said John Boswell, SAS Chief Legal Counsel, in a statement provided to WRAL TechWire. “In the U.S., WPL was found to be fraudulent in its use of SAS software and ordered to pay $79 million in damages. The UK decision does not change the fact that the judgment is final and enforceable in the U.S. and other countries. ”

The SAS victory was affirmed in US federal court in October 2017.

Court affirms judgment finding WPL liable in SAS suit

WPL put out a press statement noting that the UK court ruled SAS “had abused the court’s legal process by bringing duplicative claims against World Programming in the US after it had already elected to bring its claims against World Programming in the UK. SAS Institute is prohibited from enforcing the subsequent conflicting US judgment against World Programming.”

WPL added that “High Court judge Mrs Justice Cockerill has held that SAS Institute must repay World Programming all payments made in respect of ‘multiple’ damages awarded by the US court and that none of the US damages award can be enforced in England.”

In her ruling, the judge wrote:

“It is deceptively simple to say that in the case brought before me the Claimant (“SAS”) brings a claim under the Shorter Trials Scheme to enforce the obligation of the Defendant (“WPL”) to pay compensatory damages of US$26,376,645, and interest on that sum, under a judgment of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Western Division (the “US Court”) dated 15 July 2016 (the “US Judgment”).

“In the first place the claim relates only to part of the judgment – that part which related to causes of action for WPL’s fraudulent inducement to contract, in the second place, WPL not only resists the claim but counterclaims for appropriate declarations and for the re-payment of such money constituting punitive/multiple damages as it has been compelled to pay SAS under US enforcement procedures.

“Even that however oversimplifies – both because of the history of the claim, and the issues which have arisen for determination before me.”

However, Boswell said SAS “will continue to enforce that judgment.”

“We intend to continue to defend our intellectual property rights and protect SAS software,” he added.  “Organizations that do business with SAS can be confident that they are working with an ethical, innovative software provider.”

The suit has been ongoing since 2009.

The decision can be found at http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Comm/2018/3452.html