Morningstar To Pay Business Logic $61 Mln To Settle Dispute

(RTTNews) - Investment research company Morningstar Inc (MORN) Thursday agreed to settle its intellectual property dispute with Business Logic Holding Corp.

As per the terms of the agreement, Morningstar has secured a license to the intellectual property and will pay Business Logic $61 million.

Morningstar will record the expense in the second quarter of 2014.

The lawsuit stems from a 2003 contract between Business Logic and Ibbotson Associates, which is now a unit of Morningstar.

Business Logic gave Ibbotson the right to embed and combine its software with Ibbotson's software to develop Advice by Ibbotson, the company's advice and managed account platform for retirement plan participants.

Morningstar acquired Ibbotson in 2006. When the contract between Ibbotson and Business Logic ended in 2009, Ibbotson replaced the Business Logic software with its own. Business Logic claimed that Morningstar and Ibbotson breached the contract and used Business Logic trade secrets to develop the new software. Business Logic filed suit against Morningstar and Ibbotson in 2009 and Morningstar and Ibbotson contested the claims.