Oracle Says Rival Stole Its Software - New York Times

This doesn't look good for SAP -- read the full articles for more details

In its Safe Passage program, SAP offered continuing support for PeopleSoft products at 50 percent less than Oracle’s price for annual software maintenance, even though SAP did not have access to PeopleSoft intellectual property or engineers, the Oracle suit noted. Later, after Oracle purchased Siebel, a leader in sales automation software, SAP made the same offer to Siebel users.

SAP, the suit stated, “purported to add full support for an entirely different product line — Siebel — with a wave of its hand.”

“The economics, and the logic, simply did not add up.”

“Oracle has now solved this puzzle,” the suit added. “To stave off the mounting competitive threat from Oracle, SAP unlawfully accessed and copied Oracle’s Software and Support Materials.”

Source: Oracle Says Rival Stole Its Software - New York Times