8-K

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): May 21, 2012

ASPEN TECHNOLOGY, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware	0-24786	04-2739697
(State or other jurisdiction	(Commission	(IRS Employer
of incorporation)	File Number)	Identification No.)

200 Wheeler Road, Burlington, MA	01803
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (781) 221-6400

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

oWritten communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

oSoliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

oPre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

oPre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 8.01Other Events.

On May 21, 2012, we issued a press release announcing that a federal court jury has returned a verdict against M3 Technology, Inc. and in our favor in a proceeding in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.    The full text of the press release is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K.

Item 9.01Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d)Exhibits.

The following exhibit is filed as part of this report:

Exhibit No.	Description
99.1	Press release issued by Aspen Technology, Inc. on May 21, 2012.

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

	ASPEN TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Date: May 21, 2012	By:	/s/ Frederic G. Hammond
		Frederic G. Hammond
		Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

2

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit No.	Description
99.1	Press release issued by Aspen Technology, Inc. on May 21, 2012.

3

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

Contacts:

Media Contact	Investor Contact
David Grip	Brian Denyeau
AspenTech	ICR
+1 781-221-5273	+1 646-277-1251
david.grip@aspentech.com	brian.denyeau@icrinc.com

Jury Returns Verdict against M3 Technology in favor of Aspen Technology in Trade Secret Misappropriation, Copyright Infringement, and Tortious Interference Action

Burlington,  Mass. — May 21, 2012 — Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AZPN), a leading provider of software to the process industries, announced that a federal court jury has returned a verdict against M3 Technology in favor of AspenTech in a case against M3 Technology, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

After a three-week trial, the jury found that M3 Technology had misappropriated AspenTech trade secrets, infringed copyrights in AspenTech’s refinery planning and scheduling software, and tortiously interfered with AspenTech’s confidentiality and non-competition agreement with a former AspenTech employee.

Mark E. Fusco, President and Chief Executive Officer of AspenTech, said, “Our employees have worked countless hours and AspenTech has invested millions of dollars over the years in developing our software solutions for our process industry customers. We are gratified by the jury’s verdict protecting and enforcing our valuable intellectual property rights.”

About AspenTech

AspenTech is a leading supplier of software that optimizes process manufacturing — for energy, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, engineering and construction, and other industries that manufacture and produce products from a chemical process.  With integrated aspenONE solutions, process manufacturers can implement best practices for optimizing their engineering, manufacturing and supply chain operations.  As a result, AspenTech customers are better able to increase capacity, improve margins, reduce costs and become more energy efficient.  To see how the world’s leading process manufacturers rely on AspenTech to achieve their operational excellence goals, visit http://www.aspentech.com.

(C) 2012 Aspen Technology, Inc. AspenTech, aspenONE, the Aspen leaf logo, OPTIMIZE, and the 7 Best Practices of Engineering Excellence are trademarks of Aspen Technology, Inc. All rights reserved.  All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Source: Aspen Technology, Inc.