LONDON, UK – 18 November 2009 – Last week, SAS Institute, the multi-billion dollar US corporate, trumpeted the fact that it had issued proceedings against a recent entrant to the world of business analytics software, World Programming Limited (WP).

Using innovative development techniques, WP have done something that they believe the SAS Institute never dreamt possible. WP have invested 50 man years producing a competing SAS language interpreter, known as the WPS Software, which enables anyone to write and run SAS language applications without requiring any software from the monopoly provider, the SAS Institute.

WP produce and sell their interpreter at a fraction of the cost of the SAS version. The introduction of competition into the SAS interpreter market has been warmly welcomed.

WP have retained a leading team of Technology Lawyers to defend the claim and to fight SAS Institute head on in the High Court.

Oliver Robinson for WP said:

“SAS seem to have issued this claim with the sole intention of scaring us and our customers, or perhaps they have been badly advised.

Our company has worked really hard over the last 7 years to produce a successful product and this claim looks like a last-ditch attempt by SAS to hold onto its monopoly position.

We knew our WPS software was good but with version 2.4 released last month it must be even better than we thought to provoke this seemingly desperate response from the SAS Institute”.

Alexander Carter-Silk, head of the Technology Group at Speechly Bircham which is advising WP, said:

“SAS are claiming that the way in which WP has used a $100 learning package bought on Amazon was not permitted by the terms of the click wrap licence.

SAS is alleging that WP have run “the SAS Learning Edition software for the purposes of observing its operation and functions in order to develop the WPS software in a way which reproduces the operation and functions of the SAS System”. European law provides that one can lawfully observe the operation and functioning of a computer program and develop interoperable or alternative solutions which perform the same function. So far as we can see, WP have honoured both the spirit and the letter of the law. We are surprised that a company of SAS’s repute would want to pursue this action”

The claim brought by SAS will provide WP with a very public platform from which to prove that the WPS software is a legitimate alternative to the SAS interpreter and to show that WP have honestly established themselves as a true competitor to the SAS Institute.

The case is on-going.