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SAP narrows scope of trial, Oracle seeks delay

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CIOL Bureau
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NEW YORK, USA: SAP AG made a last-minute change in legal strategy to narrow the scope of a high-stakes trial over charges it stole intellectual property from Oracle Corp.

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That prompted Oracle to ask a judge to delay the start of court proceedings by three days so it can revise its own trial strategy. SAP said in a court filing that it would prefer to keep to the original schedule.

Oracle contends SAP employees illegally downloaded programs from an Oracle customer service website, then used that software to provide low-cost maintenance services on Oracle's software.

The trial is scheduled to begin next week, and the strategy change means the jury can presume SAP directly contributed to the efforts to infringe on Oracle's intellectual property.

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The jury's main job will be to assess damages owed to Oracle.

Narrowing the evidence could help SAP avoid a damaging "who dunnit" courtroom presentation about who knew what, and when, said Eric Goldman, an associate professor at Santa Clara University School of Law.

But SAP is still in an extremely difficult litigation position, he said.

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"It's so hard to go into a courtroom in front of a jury and say, 'Yes, we've done it, but don't give the plaintiff what they want," Goldman said.

In a earlier statement, Oracle said SAP has insisted for three-and-a-half years that it knew nothing about the massive IP theft.

"Today, SAP has finally confessed it knew about the theft all along," Oracle said on Thursday.

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SAP said that it decided to refrain from contesting the accusation that it contributed to the infringement of Oracle's intellectual property in a bid to limit the length of the trial and prevent it from turning into a media circus.

"Oracle plainly intends to use weeks of trial to harass its competitors," SAP said in a court filing.

Oracle has said that it deserves more than $2 billion in damages, while SAP has said a figure in the "tens of millions" is reasonable.

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Oracle, the software giant run by billionaire Larry Ellison, asked U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton in Oakland, California, to delay the start of the trial to Nov. 4 from Nov. 1.

Oracle said it learned of SAP's plans in an email received late on Wednesday, in which an attorney for the German company said that SAP would not contest a claim by Oracle of "contributory infringement" of intellectual property.

SAP also requested that each side be allowed 20 hours to present its case to the jury, down from a previously agreed upon 36 hours.

The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is Oracle USA, Inc., et al. v. SAP AG, et al, 07-1658.

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