The whole notion of stealing code being worth anything is laughable. What do you do if you have stolen code and you need to extend it? Or if you need to fix bugs in it? If your engineers are any good, it'll take more time for them to figure out how the stolen stuff works than to build a comparable version.
It's easy for Oracle to stand up, roll out the long list of their patents, call "They're infringing!", and then the burden is on SAP to show they were not.
I'm sure that some of SAP's products have similar (or near identical) UIs and APIs to Oracle's copyrighted works. Whether the similarity is intended, who knows...
"We don't have to care, we're the database vendor."
What's new to the story is the public accusation that Apotheker was directly responsible. (He was involved with the acquisition as an executive and had become CEO by the time the suit was filed)
So, if the HP board didn't see this coming, they simply didn't vet Apotheker well enough or are still underestimating Ellison. Probably both.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9180238/SAP_accepts_l...
And this is what is being sued over:
> TomorrowNow provided maintenance services for customers of Oracle's PeopleSoft and J.D. Edwards software, and Oracle accused the company of downloading software patches and other materials illegally from its customer support website.
Even though in this case the boy may have seen a coyote.
Man, Oracle likes to play rough.