HP's Itanium secrets cost us $95 million, Oracle says
Hewlett-Packard misled IT buyers about plans to phase out its Itanium server platform and in the process stole potential sales from Oracle and other rivals, costing Oracle about US$95 million in profits, the company plans to testify in a jury trial starting next month.
The two companies presented their intended expert witnesses in Santa Clara County Superior Court on Monday, giving a preview of their testimony before Judge James Kleinberg, who could disallow those witnesses before the trial goes before a jury on April 8. Earlier in the day, HP's expert estimated the company's damage claim against Oracle at between $4 billion and $4.2 billion.
HP sued Oracle in June 2011 for allegedly breaching a contract when it stopped porting much of its software to the Itanium platform. That decision, announced in March 2011, hurt HP's Itanium sales immediately and permanently, the company said. After hearing arguments without a jury last year, Judge Kleinberg ordered Oracle to resume porting, a ruling the company said it would comply with but is appealing.
