Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has been asked by New York district judge Katherine Forrest to stop using trade finance software from Complex Systems within 60 days and completely within a year.
The ruling by New York district judge comes after a six year legal case filed by Complex Systems, which started after RBS acquired Dutch banking giant ABN Amro in 2007, the Financial Times reported.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Complex Systems sold its software to various banks including ABN Amro. The dispute started when ABN Amro tried to block the RBS takeover by divesting its US subsidiary LaSalle, which held the licence of the BankTrade software, to Bank of America earlier in 2007.
When ABN failed to resist the takeover, RBS did not secure a transfer of the license from LaSalle, while continuing to use the software.
Katherine Forrest said in her ruling that the bank could "not continue benefiting from its blatant and ongoing infringement simply because stopping that infringement will be disruptive to its business."
The judge further in her ruling said the bank had committed "six years of uninterrupted infringement" and asked the lender to freeze its use.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataA hearing over damages is due to take place on 5 June 2014, according to the news agency.
