SAN FRANCISCO — Business software maker Oracle has turned down $272 million in court-ordered damages from rival SAP in hopes of leaving a much bigger dent in its rival’s pocketbook and reputation during a second trial over allegations of corporate theft.
The decision to extend the 5-year-old legal brawl had been expected since September. That’s when a federal judge lowered a $1.3 billion verdict awarded to Oracle by a jury that sat through a three-week trial filled with evidence depicting Germany’s SAP as a high-tech bandit. U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton lopped more than $1 billion from the jury’s award after concluding it was “grossly excessive.”
Oracle demanded the new trial in a Monday court filing.
Oracle will try to show the first jury got it right while getting a new chance to sully SAP.
“We are disappointed that Oracle has passed up yet another opportunity to resolve this case,” SAP spokesman James Dever said Tuesday. “We will work to bring this case to a fair and reasonable end.”
Oracle, based in Redwood Shores, Calif., didn’t comment.
The case revolves around SAP’s $10 million acquisition of a small software services firm, TomorrowNow, that had promised to help corporate customers and government agencies maintain applications that they had purchased from Oracle.
After SAP took over TomorrowNow in 2005, Oracle uncovered evidence that TomorrowNow was breaking into Oracle’s computers to steal instruction manuals and other technical information about copyrighted software.
