Larry Ellison to take stand in TomorrowNow case

Oracle founder Larry Ellison is due to take the stand on Monday as the legal tussle between his firm and arch rival SAP hots up.

According to reports, Ellison was initially expected in court on Friday, but that is no longer the case.

The two firms have been locked in a legal battle over allegations that SAP subsidiary TomorrowNow benefited from information stolen from an Oracle web site. Oracle is reportedly seeking around $2.3bn (£1.42bn) in damages from the German software firm.

The New York Times reported that SAP has already agreed to pay $120m (£74m) to settle part of the case.

However, the companies will still contest the remainder of the case, and the war of words between Ellison and HP, whose new boss Léo Apotheker was in charge at SAP when the scandal broke, is heating up.

Oracle this week accused HP of refusing a subpoena of Apotheker in the trial, while HP countered that Apotheker has already testified, and that the move is little more than "harassment" by Oracle.

Former Oracle president Charles Phillips has already begun his testimony this week in the case, according to a Bloomberg report.

However, all eyes will be focused on Ellison on Monday. The Oracle chief has already accused Apotheker of ducking the trial by living outside US jurisdiction, and a fiery appearance is expected.