Business Objects Advances in Key Patent Litigation; Court Denies Cognos Attempt to Avoid Trial

Business Wire, Sept 19, 2001

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 19, 2001

Business Objects (Nasdaq:BOBJ), the world's leading provider of business intelligence solutions, today announced an important step forward in its patent infringement lawsuit against Cognos (Nasdaq:COGN), a competing vendor in the business intelligence software market. The lawsuit involves alleged patent infringement by Cognos on Business Objects' United States patent number 5,555,403 entitled "Relational Database Access System Using Semantically Dynamic Objects."

On September 7, 2001, the United States District Court denied Cognos' motion for a partial summary judgment where Cognos was seeking to invalidate the Business Objects patent. The court said the case is valid, should proceed to trial, and set a jury trial date of May 20, 2002.

"We are very pleased with the court's decision," said Bernard Liautaud, chief executive officer of Business Objects. "We believe that Cognos is infringing on our patent. We are eager to get this case before a jury. The technology protected by this patent is core to our business and our customers. We initiated this lawsuit because it is our obligation to our stakeholders to protect our intellectual property rights as much as we would protect any other asset."

Business Objects has successfully enforced patent number 5,555,403 in the past. In January 1997, the Company filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Brio Technology, another competing BI vendor. A settlement between the two companies was announced on September 13, 1999, whereby Brio agreed to pay Business Objects $10M. (Editor's note: link to the press release at http://www.businessobjects.com/news/press/press1999/bo-brio.htm.)

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 2000, the industry's leading integrated business intelligence toolset and platform; and BusinessObjects 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 13,500 customers in over 170 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 120 and IT CAC 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. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.