Oracle appeals SAP settlement

Multimillion-dollar settlement in long-running copyright spat now subject of an appeal

Software giant Oracle has launched an appeal against a $306m (£193m) settlement with rival SAP, according to various reports.

The current settlement amount, agreed on 3 August, is less than a quarter of the $1.3bn SAP was originally ordered to pay the Silicon Valley giant by a jury in November 2010.

Both firms reached the agreement after court judge Phyliss Hamilton cut the original amount to $272m, saying it was "grossly excessive".

Oracle and SAP's dispute has been going on since 2007, initiated after SAP subsidiary TomorrowNow was accused of wrongfully downloading millions of Oracle files.

When the settlement was initially agreed after SAP pled guilty to a number of charges and admitted to infringement, the German software vendor said in a statement that it believed the case had "gone on long enough".

Oracle's latest appeal was made to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The saga continues.