Yahoo Finance Micro Focus settles Wapp patent dispute for £48.7m
Technology firm Micro Focus has settled its three-year patent dispute with rival Wapp Tech with a 67.5 million US dollar (£48.7 million) payment.
Shares in the London-listed business nudged higher after it said the long-running litigation process had been brought to an end.
Wapp first brought a claim against Micro Focus in the Eastern District of Texas in July 2018.
The original claim accused Micro Focus of “infringing three patents in connection with Micro Focus’ manufacture and sale of certain products in the ADM product line, including LoadRunner and Performance Center”.
In concluding this matter, the board considered a range of factors, including the possible time, cost and significant resources required for the appeal process
Micro Focus
In a statement, Micro Focus added: “The company has now reached a settlement with Wapp for payment of 67.5 million dollars for complete resolution of the dispute without admission of liability.
“In concluding this matter, the board considered a range of factors, including the possible time, cost and significant resources required for the appeal process and concluded that it was in the best interests of the company that a settlement should be reached.”
Micro Focus said the cash will be settled immediately and will be recognised as an exceptional item within its results for the past half-year.
In accordance with the settlement, the FTSE 250 firm said it has been granted a fully paid-up, worldwide, irrevocable licence for the patents asserted by Wapp for current and future Micro Focus products and services, as well as its customers.
Earlier this month, Micro Focus said it had set aside 70 million dollars in order to resolve the dispute.
It also reported a reduced loss for the past six months after significant cost reductions.
Shares in Micro Focus were 0.5% higher at 409.1p in early trading.
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