SAN MATEO, Calif., July 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- SuccessFactors, Inc.
(NASDAQ: SFSF), the global leader in business execution software
today announced the conclusion of SuccessFactors' litigation
against its direct competitor, Halogen. As part of the
settlement, Halogen acknowledges that it engaged in false
pretexting. Specifically, Halogen manufactured a phony
prospective customer, "The Magnus Group," to inappropriately obtain
SuccessFactors' business information to learn about SuccessFactors'
services and product features, product demonstrations, pricing, and
sales processes. In connection with the settlement, Halogen
agreed to pay an undisclosed payment to SuccessFactors.
Halogen also agreed to allow entry of a permanent stipulated
injunction, to destroy wrongfully obtained data, and to implement
employee training along with new company guidelines to ensure that
Halogen does not again engage in similar behavior.
"SuccessFactors has been extremely concerned about safeguarding
its confidential information, so we're pleased to have successfully
resolved this matter of nearly seven months," said Doug Dennerline, SuccessFactors' president.
"At SuccessFactors, we take extreme pride in winning the
right way, within ethical and legal boundaries, so in addition to
vindication, we were able to demonstrate a valuable lesson."
The legal dispute originated in early September 2010 when an alleged potential
customer, "The Magnus Group," ended discussions with SuccessFactors
after several weeks of contact and purported interest in
SuccessFactors' products, pricing, and services. By posing as
a prospective customer and repeatedly expressing interest in
purchasing SuccessFactors' product, an alleged representative of
"The Magnus Group" received wrongfully obtained SuccessFactors'
business information that SuccessFactors would never have disclosed
to a competitor.
SuccessFactors learned that Halogen was the creator of the phony
"Magnus Group" company. SuccessFactors filed a lawsuit on
December 2, 2010 against Halogen in
the United States District Court for the Northern District of
California (Case No. CV10-05471)
for Intentional Interference with Prospective Economic Relations,
Conversion, Fraud, and Unfair Competition. On December 9, 2010, the parties stipulated to an
order that Halogen was prohibited from using any of the files or
information procured through its use of The Magnus Group. As
part of this settlement, Halogen agreed that the provisions of the
stipulation would become permanent, as part of a stipulated
judgment.
Dennerline continued, "We believe the market is the true winner
here. Customers want products that work from vendors they can
trust."
About SuccessFactors, Inc.
SuccessFactors is the leading provider of cloud-based Business
Execution (BizX) software solutions to organizations of all sizes,
with more than 15 million users across multiple industries and
geographies. We strive to delight our customers by delivering
innovative solutions, a broad range of content, process expertise
and best practices knowledge gained from serving our large and
varied customer base. Today, we have more than 3,200
customers in more than 168 countries using our application
suite in 34 languages.
For more information, visit: http://www.successfactors.com.
About Halogen Software
Halogen Software is recognized as a market leader by industry
analysts and is strongly endorsed by the thousands of HR
professionals who use their Talent Management solutions. The
company offers a complete suite of web-based products that
automate, simplify and integrate performance appraisals, 360 degree
feedback, compensation management, succession planning, job
descriptions and learning management. Halogen's offering makes HR
best-practices accessible to companies of all sizes and its
healthcare, education, manufacturing, public sector, hospitality,
financial services and professional services specific suites meet
the unique needs of these industries. Halogen is consistently
recognized by the industry and its customers for its exceptional
implementation and support services, and has won multiple awards
for its corporate leadership and product innovation, including HR
Technology Product of the Year. For more information, visit
www.halogensoftware.com. Subscribe to Halogen Software's Employee
Performance and Talent Management blog
http://www.halogensoftware.com/blog/ or Follow Halogen Software on
Twitter http://twitter.com/#%21/HalogenSoftware.
Contact:
For media inquiries regarding SuccessFactors:
Andrea Meyer
+1.415.370.7329
ameyer@successfactors.com
For investor inquiries regarding SuccessFactors:
Karen Moran
+1.650.645.4439
kmoran@successfactors.com
For media inquiries regarding Halogen Software:
Connie Costigan
T: 613-270-1011 x 4334
E: ccostigan@halogensoftware.com
SOURCE SuccessFactors, Inc.