Business Objects to Receive $24 Million From Cognos in Patent Litigation Settlement; Cognos To Mark its Product with Business Objects' Patent Notice.Business Editors SAN JOSE San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 27, 2002 Business Objects (Nasdaq:BOBJ BOBJ Business Objects SA ) (Euronext Paris Euronext Paris is France's securities market, formerly known as the Paris Bourse, which merged with the Amsterdam and Brussels exchanges in September 2000 to form Euronext NV, which is the second largest exchange in Europe behind the London Stock Exchange. : Euroclear # 12074) today announced the successful resolution of its patent infringement patent infringement n. the manufacture and/or use of an invention or improvement for which someone else owns a patent issued by the government, without obtaining permission of the owner of the patent by contract, license or waiver. lawsuit against Cognos Incorporated (Nasdaq:COGN) regarding Business Objects' United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. patent number 5,555,403 entitled "Relational Database relational database Database in which all data are represented in tabular form. The description of a particular entity is provided by the set of its attribute values, stored as one row or record of the table, called a tuple. Access System Using Semantically Dynamic Objects." Under the terms of the agreement Cognos will license the rights to the patent from Business Objects for $24 million. This license will cover both past and future use of Business Objects technology. The payment, excluding transaction costs Transaction Costs Costs incurred when buying or selling securities. These include brokers' commissions and spreads (the difference between the price the dealer paid for a security and the price they can sell it). , will consist of a $10M payment by June 10, 2002, and quarterly payments of $1.75 million over the next two years. As part of the agreement, Cognos will place the notice "U.S. Pat. No. 5,555,403." on each copy of its Impromptu product and subsequent releases manufactured after July 1, 2002. "This is an important day for Business Objects and our stakeholders. Once again the value of our patented technology has been recognized. Contrary to Cognos prior claims, we believe that this patent is valid and enforceable," said Bernard Liautaud Bernard Liautaud is chairman and chief strategy officer of Business Objects. Liautaud cofounded Business Objects in 1990 and was chief executive officer until September 2005. , chief executive officer of Business Objects. "In 1990, Business Objects invented a new query paradigm, using a semantic layer Semantic Layer The semantic layer is a business representation of corporate data that helps end users access data autonomously using common business terms. Developed and patented by Business Objects, it maps complex data into familiar business terms such as product, that allowed business users to access relational databases by insulating them from the complexity of database structures. This invention has been key to the growth and success of Business Objects." Liautaud continued, "In fact, we believe it changed the business intelligence industry altogether. From the time of our invention, business people in thousands of global corporations have been able to access business information in an easier way than ever before. Because of its importance, we succeeded in patenting this technology as US patent 5,555,403. We believe it is our duty to enforce our intellectual property rights." This is the second time Business Objects has successfully enforced patent number 5,555,403. In January 1997, the Company filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Brio (Brio Technology, Palo Alto, CA, www.brio.com) A software company founded in 1989 and acquired by Hyperion Solutions Corporation in 2003 that specialized in enterprise analysis and reporting programs that run on several platforms. Software, another competing BI vendor. A settlement between the two companies was announced on September 13, 1999, whereby Brio agreed to pay Business Objects $10M. Liautaud concluded, "Business Objects has a long history of technical innovation, and this patent confirms our position as the true pioneer of the modern business intelligence market. And thanks to our award-winning products, we have continued to gain marketshare over our main competitors for the past year, and are now in the top position in business intelligence." About Business Objects Business Objects is the world's leading provider of business intelligence (BI) solutions. Business intelligence lets organizations access, analyze, and share information internally with employees and externally with customers, suppliers, and partners. It helps organizations improve operational efficiency, build profitable customer relationships, and develop differentiated product offerings. The company's products include BusinessObjects(TM) 2000, the industry's leading integrated business intelligence toolset and platform; and BusinessObjects(TM) Analytics, an integrated suite of enterprise analytic applications. Business Objects pioneered the modern BI industry in 1990 by inventing a patented "semantic layer" that insulates users from the complexity of databases. In 1995, the company was first to focus on enterprise-scale BI deployments and today supports customers with more than 20,000 users. The company moved aggressively to the internet in 1997 by pioneering the market for BI extranets, a market that it continues to lead today. In 2000, the company delivered the industry's first interactive mobile BI solution. Today, Business Objects continues to innovate, creating and delivering a unique vision for enterprise analytic applications. Business Objects has more than 15,500 customers in over 80 countries. The company's stock is publicly traded under the ticker symbols NASDAQ: BOBJ and Euronext Paris (Sicovam code 12074). It is included in the SBF SBF Studium Biblicum Franciscanum (Franciscan School of Biblical Investigations; Jerusalem, Israel) SBF Small Block Ford (automotive engine) SBF Single Black Female SBF Société des Bourses Francaises 120 and IT CAC See Consumer Advisory Council. 50 French stock market indexes. Business Objects can be reached at 408-953-6000 and www.businessobjects.com. Note to Editors: BusinessObjects is a trademark of Business Objects SA. Other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated. |
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