The fast-growing tech-support market – comprising third-party support firms that supply maintenance and repairs for a number of business programs - has been stunned by the recent court verdict in the Oracle-SAP copyright infringement case, in which SAP has been slapped with a whopping $1.3 billion fine for pilfering Oracle’s software.

In the 2007-filed lawsuit, Oracle had accused a SAP subsidiary – the now-closed TomorrowNow unit – for using its customers’ log-ins to illicitly download Oracle software and documents onto its computers. Though SAP conceded liability in the copyright-infringement case, it vigorously argued over the amount it should pay Oracle in damages.

Despite the fact that the record $1.3 billion verdict against SAP stemmed from TomorrowNow’s actions rather than the legitimacy of the business model of support companies, potential clients have become apprehensive about whether other third-party support firms too may be sued; thereby implying their risk of getting involved in a legal scuffle.

With some support companies saying that potential clients are inquiring about the likelihood of legal problems before signing contracts, Steve Striebel, co-founder of Nashua, N. H.-based Versytec LLC, remarked: “When you talk to people who were customers of TomorrowNow, some of them were really put through the ringer. It is on the mind of every customer.”

Customers get attracted to third-party support companies largely due to pricing; and, industry estimates reveal that profit margins on support can be as much as 90 percent, or even more.