This article is more than 1 year old

Oracle claims knockout blow in IP lawsuit

Judge says Rimini Street pinched Larry's goodies

Oracle says new findings by the judge hearing its case against third party software support outfit Rimini Street prove its IP has been pinched.

Judge Larry R Hicks' orders aren't online yet, but Oracle has kindly let the world know about what it considers the best bits.

Those include a quote to the effect that “Rimini had engaged in 'massive theft' of Oracle's intellectual property are true” and another in which the Judge apparently said “It is undisputed that Rimini engaged in theft of Oracle's intellectual property”.

Oracle says today's findings also show Rimini Street ran 200 unlicensed copies of its database software.

Oracle's attorney Geoff Howard's canned statement indicates Big Red expects Rimini Street to start talking about damages payments.

The case hinges on how third-party support providers like Rimini Street go about their business. Rimini Street uses the support Oracle clients have already paid for as the basis of its service. Oracle says the company went beyond the bounds of the contracts that make that arrangement possible, in ways that represents theft of its IP.

Which may well be true. A deeper issue is that software vendors make decent coin from support and don't like the idea that anyone can undercut them. A certain hostility towards third-party providers is therefore almost inevitable, as is some pondering of competition laws.

Rimini Street has responsed to the Oracle, promising business as usual.

The case continues. ®

More about

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like