Mr. Ellison has sought to paint Leo Apotheker, SAP AG's (SAP, SAP.XE) former chief, as culpable for a SAP unit's illegal downloads of Oracle documents, accusing him personally of 'overseeing an industrial espionage scheme.' SAP has accepted liability for the downloads and a trial to determine damages is scheduled to begin Monday in a federal court in Oakland, Calif.
'H-P Chairman Ray Lane has taken the position that Leo Apotheker is innocent of wrongdoing because he didn't know anything about the stealing going on at SAP while Leo was CEO,' Mr. Ellison said in a statement Wednesday. 'The most basic facts of the case show this to be an absurd lie.'
He continued: 'It's time to change the H-P tagline from 'Invent' to 'Steal.''
The two companies disagree sharply on how much SAP should pay. Oracle is seeking $2 billion, but SAP estimates that the damages were in the 'tens of millions of dollars.' On Wednesday, SAP said it has set aside up to $160 million to cover the costs associated with the trial and with shutting down the TomorrowNow unit.
H-P declined to comment on Mr. Ellison's latest statement. On Tuesday, H-P did respond to a statement he issued that day, which included Mr. Ellison's suggestion that H-P might try to keep Mr. Apotheker from appearing in court.
'Oracle had ample opportunity to question Leo during his sworn deposition in October 2008,' an H-P spokeswoman said. 'Given Leo's limited knowledge of and role in the matter, Oracle's last-minute effort to require him to appear live at trial is no more than an effort to harass him and interfere with his duties and responsibilities as HP's CEO.'
H-P declined to say whether Mr. Apotheker would appear in court if called to testify, nor would it discuss his whereabouts--which could affect Oracle's ability to subpoena him. In an Oct. 1 call with analysts to discuss his appointment, Mr. Apotheker said he would spend the 'following weeks and even months' travelling around the world meeting with H-P employees, customers and shareholders.
An SAP spokesman said the German software giant has already agreed to pay restitution to Oracle for TomorrowNow's actions and called Mr. Ellison's repeated allegations regarding Mr. Apotheker's role in the matter 'a sideshow.'
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