Oracle v. SAP (2010, USA)

NOTE: It appears that this case is not about patents, despite some websites it is. It seems the case is really only about copyright.

Background

Oracle USA, Inc., et al. v. SAP AG, et al (docket 07-1658) is a suit, filed in 2007, for infringement of copyright and/or patents (see below). There are also issues of copyright infringement. SAP has admitted in August 2010 that it infringed the patents in question.

The question of damages remains hotly disputed. Oracle estimates the damage caused to be in the range of billions of US dollars. In November 2010, they suggested the figure of US1.66 billion. SAP argues that the damages should less than US$100 million.

The case is unusual because the companies seem to intend to pursue the jury trial to the ruling. For cases with two large software producers, it's more likely that they settle out of court, or that the case never happens because they already have a patent non-aggression pact. Court cases which proceed right up to judgement are usually cases between a patent troll and a software producer.

The case, as of November 2010, is at District Court stage (Oakland), so subsequent appeals are possible.

(This trial has also generated a lot of gossip news stories about whether such-and-such will give evidence etc. but these are off-topic for campaigns against software patents.)

Help: Is it about patents?

Can you help? The documents filed with the court don't mention the word "patents". That means that journalists are all mistaken when they say this is about patents, or maybe it is about patents but the official documents use vague terminology. Research needed. Can you help?

ibtimes.com says the damages are mostly about the patent infringements:

At issue is how much money SAP must pay Oracle for infringing patents. SAP has admitted to wrongdoing, accepted liability and shut down its former TomorrowNow unit which infringed patents.

But, a quick search of some of the documents filed with the court finds no mentions of patents.

Related pages on ESP Wiki

• Oracle
• SAP
• List of lawsuits
• Calculating damages and legal fees in the USA

External links

• HP's new CEO to testify at Oracle-SAP trial, 2 Nov 2010, ibmtimes
• Judge's Order Narrows Damages in Oracle-SAP Suit, 18 Aug 2010, PCWorld
• What's the Oracle trial against SAP really about?, 8 Nov 2010, siliconvalley.com
• SAP: Court lops $500M off Oracle's potential damages, 9 Nov 2010, Computer World

Court documents

• 762 - Order re Motions For Partial Summary Judgment.pdf, 17 Aug 2010 - Note: zero mentions of patents

SAP's statments

• SAP Statement on Aug 5 PreTrial Filings.pdf, 5 Aug 2010
• SAP Responds To Oracle Complaint, 3 July 2007
• Defendants’ Trial Brief, 5 Aug 2010

Oracle's statements

• Plaintiff's Joint Pretrial Statement, 30 Sep 2010
• Oracle's filed complaint, 22 March 2007 - Note: zero mentions of patents