COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

3 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2012

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES [Abstract]

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

9.    COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Legal Proceedings

On May 19, 2009, we filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (the "trial court") against four defendants, alleging that they used or sold products, methods, processes, services and/or systems that infringe on certain of our patents. During July and August 2009, we entered into settlement and license agreements with three of the defendants. We obtained a jury verdict against the remaining defendant, Lawson Software, Inc. ("Lawson") on January 27, 2011. The jury unanimously found that Lawson infringed certain ePlus patents relating to electronic procurement systems, and additionally found that all ePlus patent claims tried in court were not invalid.

On May 23, 2011, the court issued a permanent injunction, ordering Lawson and its successors to: immediately stop selling and servicing products relating to its electronic procurement systems that infringe our patents; cease providing any ongoing or future maintenance, training or installation of its infringing products; and refrain from publishing any literature or information that encourages the use or sale of its infringing products. Lawson's request to stay the injunction was denied, however, Lawson has appealed the trial court's ruling. We have filed a motion seeking a finding that Lawson is in contempt of the injunction. We currently do not have a hearing date for our motion. We also have appealed the trial court's evidentiary ruling which precluded us from seeking monetary damages. Oral argument on the appeal was held on June 6, 2012. Court calendars are inherently unpredictable and we cannot predict when the court will issue a ruling.

While we believe that we have a basis for our claims, these types of cases are complex in nature, are likely to have significant expenses associated with them, and we cannot predict whether we will be successful in our claim for a contempt finding or damages, whether any award ultimately received will exceed the costs incurred to pursue this matter, or how long it will take to bring this matter to resolution.

Other Matters

We may become party to various legal proceedings arising in the normal course of business, including preference payment claims asserted in customer bankruptcy proceedings, claims of alleged infringement of patents, trademarks, copyrights and other intellectual property rights, claims of alleged non-compliance with contract provisions, employment related claims and claims related to alleged violations of laws and regulations. We accrue for costs associated with these contingencies when a loss is probable and the amount is reasonably estimable.  Refer to Note 5, "Reserves for Credit Losses," for additional information regarding loss contingencies associated with our accounts, notes and lease related receivables.