The settlement favorable to our client resolves years of monopoly and trade secret claims ahead of trial.
Retained by counsel for Teradata
Overview
In February 2026, Teradata Corporation and SAP SE reached a $480 million settlement to resolve long-standing litigation involving claims of monopoly conduct and trade secret misappropriation. The agreement, finalized ahead of a scheduled district court trial, concludes a dispute initiated in 2018 regarding tying a database to enterprise resource planning (ERP) software.
Counsel for Teradata retained Cornerstone Research to support John Asker of the University of California, Los Angeles, in analyzing complex issues of market definition and tying arrangements within the enterprise data warehouse (EDW) and ERP sectors. Professor Asker also estimated damages.
The settlement provides a definitive resolution to the litigation, underscoring the role of rigorous economic testimony in achieving favorable outcomes in high-stakes antitrust disputes.
Economic Analysis and Methodological Validation
Cornerstone Research supported Professor Asker’s analysis of market definition and exclusionary conduct. This work included implementing a “Hypothetical Monopolist Test” using critical loss analysis and evaluating the competitive effects of “lock-in” within the ERP sector.
In 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a prior summary judgment ruling, reinforcing the validity of the economic frameworks applied by Professor Asker in the case. Professor Asker’s methodological approach had also been validated in amicus briefs from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and a group of prominent economists—including Cornerstone Research affiliated experts Aviv Nevo of the University of Pennsylvania and Andrew Sweeting of the University of Maryland—who affirmed that the techniques used to define the relevant market in this matter aligned with established antitrust principles.
Resolution
The $480 million settlement reached in February 2026 provides a definitive resolution to the litigation, underscoring the role of rigorous economic testimony in achieving favorable outcomes in high-stakes antitrust disputes.