Oracle and Rimini Street trade blows as trial date looms

Jury to hear vendor giant's claim against independent support provider in September

Oracle and Rimini Street exchanged verbal barbs again this week ahead of a courtroom showdown in their long-running legal spat, the outcome of which could have far-reaching implications for the unauthorised channel.

Oracle issued a stock market statement earlier this week announcing that its lawsuit against Rimini Street and its founder and chief executive Seth Ravin will go to a jury trial in September. The ERP giant launched a lawsuit against the independent firm five years ago, alleging "copyright infringement, computer fraud, and related business torts".

Oracle indicated that, last year, a court had already "granted summary judgment in Oracle's favour" in respect of its infringement claims regarding its PeopleSoft and Database copyrights. The upcoming trial will consider its claims in regard to the alleged infringement of its Siebel and JD Edwards copyrights.

The Oracle statement added that a court order from last summer "dismissed Rimini's defamation and unfair competition counterclaims, holding that within the context of Rimini's defamation allegations, Oracle's ‘statements . . . that Rimini engaged in "massive theft" of Oracle's intellectual property are true'".

Oracle is seeking more than $200m in damages and stated that there are "no active settlement discussions" currently taking place with Rimini Street. The vendor's general counsel Dorian Daley claimed the company is looking forward to having its day in court.

"Even though the Court has found that Rimini's practices were infringing, Rimini and Ravin have not committed to stopping those practices," she added. "We look forward to presenting our case to the jury to protect Oracle's intellectual property rights."

The outcome of this case could have major ramifications for independent support providers, second-user brokers, and other firms operating outside the authorised channel. In a statement issued in response to the confirmation of an upcoming court date, Rimini Street asserted its credentials as a more cost-effective provider of enterprise-grade services.

"Oracle's media statement... regarding the nearly decade-long competition and years of litigation between Oracle and Rimini Street appears to be driven by frustration," said the statement. "Despite Oracle's extensive tactics in the marketplace, more and more Oracle licensees are switching to Rimini Street's award-winning independent software support for unparalleled premium service and more than 50 per cent savings in annual support fees."