SAP pushes for settlement talks with Oracle
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InfoWorld - SAP AG has asked a U.S. court to order settlement talks in its legal battle with Oracle Corp., arguing that Oracle exaggerated its claims against the German software maker. Oracle said it opposed such talks and accused SAP of trying to &quot;make this case go away.&quot;
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Responding to aÂ lawsuit filed by OracleÂ earlier this year, SAP admitted on Tuesday that its TomorrowNow division in the U.S. made some "inappropriate downloads" from an Oracle Web site but said SAP never had access to the material.
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Oracle Corp can close the gap with SAP, the world&#39;s biggest software company, after buying US rival PeopleSoft, Oracle&#39;s Chairman Jeff Henley said in an interview published on Wednesday.
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As its battle with Oracle continues, the software maker attempts to offer some good news by unveiling tools designed for manufacturers.
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Users hope SAP AG's admission that it inappropriately downloaded proprietary technical data from Oracle databases won't hurt the vendor in the long run.
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SAP's Tuesday deadline for interested buyers of its third-party enterprise applications software maintenance and support company TomorrowNow is drawing to a close. Prospective buyers need to move fast if they want a piece of the action.
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Oracle Corp.  posts  quarterly results next week with investors watching for signs  of further strength in its business applications software as it  chases industry leader SAP AG .
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Violations aplenty, alleges database giant Oracle has amended its theft lawsuit against SAP to include claims of infringed copyrights and breached contracts.â¦
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(InfoWorld) - Responding to aÂ lawsuit filed by OracleÂ earlier this year, SAP admitted on Tuesday that its TomorrowNow division in the U.S. made some "inappropriate downloads" from an Oracle Web site but said SAP never had access to the material. In anÂ about face from his previous position, SAP CEO Henning Kagermann also said Tuesday that his company is open to a possible settlement with Oracle, which has charged SAP with "corporate theft on a grand scale." TomorrowNow was authorized to download materials from Oracle's Web site on behalf of customers, SAP said, but acknowledged that there were some inappropriate downloads of software patches and support documents. SAP announced new oversights at TomorrowNow, including the appointment of a new executive chairman, to avoid such problems in the future. "Even a single inappropriate download is unacceptable from my perspective," Kagermann said in a statement. "We regret very much that this occurred." The U.S. Department of Justice has asked for documents related to the case from SAP and TomorrowNow, SAP said, and the companies will cooperate with the request. Oracle filed its surprise lawsuit against SAP on March 22. It alleged that TomorrowNow staff hacked into a support Web site for users of Oracle's PeopleSoft and JD Edwards applications and downloaded vast amounts of content, which SAP then used to offer Oracle customers cut-rate support services. SAP had until midnight Pacific Time on Monday night to file its response in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, which is hearing the case, and filed the documents shortly before the deadline. SAP will consider all options in the Oracle case including a possible settlement, Kagermann said in a conference call Tuesday. That marks an abrupt turnaround from April, when Kagermann said during the company's quarterly earnings call: "We have no intention to settle; why should we?" The legal proceedings will likely have no impact on SAP's business in the U.S., Kagermann said Tuesday, vowing to continue its Safe Passage campaign to win customers from Oracle. The company launched a Web site where it will publish information related to the case, including court filings and a time line of events. SAP also appointed a new executive chairman to manage TomorrowNow's operations and oversee compliance programs. Mark White, chief operating officer of SAP America, will take on the role. TomorrowNow workers will also get additional training to ensure they understand company's policies. TomorrowNow CEO Andrew Nelson will report to White. TomorrowNow and other third-party support providers rely on their customers to provide passwords to access support materials from Oracle in order to make fixes, SAP said, suggesting it is a normal practice. But it reiterated that some inappropriate downloads did occur, without providing more information. TomorrowNow provides maintenance and support to customers using Oracle's PeopleSoft and Siebel applications. SAP acquired TomorrowNow in 2005, around the same time Oracle closed its acquisition of PeopleSoft, which had previously bought JD Edwards. The market for third-party support services for ERP (enterprise resource planning) and CRM (customer relationship management) applications has emerged in recent years. Companies such as TomorrowNow cater to customers using older versions of the software and charge lower maintenance fees than Oracle. Oracle is also in the third-party maintenance market, supporting SAP's older R/3 applications through a partnership with Systime Computers. The original charges in Oracle's lawsuit included violations of the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and of California's Computer Data Access and Fraud Act, along with unfair competition charges. On June 1 Oracle filed an amended complaint , adding copyright infringement and breach of contract claims. The complaints were filed against SAP, SAP America, TomorrowNow, and 50 unnamed individuals Oracle said were SAP employees. Oracle said it discovered the access to its Customer Connection Web site after noting periods of heavy download activity late last year. The vendor claims it found over 10,000 unauthorized downloads of its software and support materials, which it traced to an IP (Internet Protocol) address at the headquarters of TomorrowNow in Bryan, Texas. That IP address was connected directly to SAP's computer network, Oracle alleged. The TomorrowNow staff accessed the support site by pretending to be Oracle customers, according to the suit. For one of those customers, Honeywell International, Oracle said it had connected many of the downloads to a particular TomorrowNow employee, Wade Walden, who previously worked at PeopleSoft. Â
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newsmaker SAP's Henning Kagermann discusses his company's disclosure that its third-party support and maintenance subsidiary made illicit downloads of Oracle software.
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Software company SAP AG said Tuesday that one of its units made "some inappropriate downloads," as it responded to a lawsuit filed by rival Oracle Corp. that alleged corporate theft.
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A U.S. district court judge has ordered that&#160;Oracle&#39;s lawsuit against SAP and its TomorrowNow subsidiary&#160;be sent to mediation, according to a court document posted on www.tnlawsuit.com, a Web site SAP set up for the case.SAP spokesman Andy Kendzie declined to comment in much detail Thursday about Judge Martin J. Jenkins&#39; ruling, which occurred after a case management conference on Tuesday, according to the document.&quot;Our preference had always been that we explored mediation,&quot; Kendzie said.Oracle filed suit against SAP and TomorrowNow last year, charging that TomorrowNow employees illegally downloaded data from a secure Oracle support Web site, and used it to court Oracle&#39;s customers. The initial complaint alleges that &quot;corporate theft on a grand scale&quot; had occurred.SAP has said TomorrowNow was authorized to download materials from Oracle&#39;s Web site on behalf of TomorrowNow&#39;s customers, but also acknowledged &quot;some inappropriate downloads of fixes and support documents occurred at TomorrowNow.&quot; SAP has asserted that this information remained in TomorrowNow&#39;s systems and that SAP itself did not gain access to Oracle&#39;s intellectual property.TomorrowNow provides third-party support for Oracle&#39;s PeopleSoft, Siebel, and J.D. Edwards software products.Oracle could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday.
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German business software giant SAP  SAPG.DE is starting to see the silver lining in a potential  linkup between rivals Oracle ORCL.O and PeopleSoft PSFT.O,  the German Sunday newspaper Welt am Sonntag reported.
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SAP, the world's leading maker of business software, unveiled a program to woo customers of its rival PeopleSoft wary about future technical and maintenance support for PeopleSoft products now that the company has been taken over by Oracle.
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Software maker SAP admitted a  subsidiary had carried out &quot;inappropriate downloads&quot; of  documents belonging to archrival Oracle but said on Tuesday SAP  itself had not had access to that material.
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Oracle Corp.  plans in a few years to combine Oracle and PeopleSoft business software products in a challenge to market leader SAP AG , Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison said on Tuesday.
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FRANKFURT/BOSTON  - Software maker SAP AG   disclosed that a U.S. subsidiary made "inappropriate  downloads" of data from rival Oracle Corp.'s  Web site  and said U.S. authorities asked it to hand over internal  documents.