Oracle appeals against SAP court ruling

Oracle's battle with SAP rages on

Oracle plans to appeal against a December court ruling, which dismissed claims that SAP stole Oracle's copyrighted data relating to JD Edwards and Oracle Systems software.

The ruling is the only one that has worked in SAP's favour since the beginning of the TomorrowNow case in 2007.

TomorrowNow provided cut-price software support for Oracle's PeopleSoft and JD Edwards software operations, and was acquired by SAP in 2005 in an effort to convert Oracle customers to SAP.

The acquisition turned sour when Oracle accused TomorrowNow of "corporate theft on a grand scale". Oracle claimed that TomorrowNow staff had stolen software and technical support materials, and launched legal proceedings against SAP seeking significant damages.

While the US court overruled the Oracle accusations on copyright infringement in December 2008, it left the other claims to stand, such as breach of contract, intentional interference with prospective business advantage, unfair competition and trespass.

SAP asked Oracle at a recent Joint Discovery Conference to reveal the profits it has made on its support offerings over the years in order to make it easier for the courts to determine the extent to which Oracle lost customers to its rival. Oracle has not yet said whether it will comply with the request.

SAP said that it will respond to Oracle's latest motion in the schedule set by the court. A proposed hearing is set for 4 March.