On the eve of a high-profile copyright trial between arch-rivals Oracle and SAP AG, a new round of vitriolic finger-pointing has erupted between the two sides, with Oracle CEO Larry Ellison alleging that SAP executives now admit to stealing his company’s software and SAP attorneys accusing Ellison of seeking to stage a “media circus” at the trial.
The last-minute dust-up included a request by Oracle to delay the start of the trial, scheduled for Monday, until next Thursday. In a ruling yesterday, however, U.S. District Court Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton ruled that the trial will begin on Monday in Oakland, CA, with jury selection.
The latest drama was prompted by SAP’s decision earlier this week not to contest Oracle’s accusation of contributory copyright infringement, one of many charges Oracle brought against SAP and its TomorrowNow subsidiary in 2007.
Oracle claims that the now-defunct TomorrowNow third-party ERP software maintenance unit systematically stole Oracle software documentation and other intellectual property in its attempts to support users of Oracle applications. Oracle is seeking damages upward of $2 billion.