An industrial espionage trial between Oracle Corp and SAP AG, two of the world’s biggest business software makers, ended on Friday without the testimony of one of its most anticipated witnesses.
The evidence part of the three-week trial wrapped up on Friday without an in-person appearance by the new CEO of Hewlett--Packard Co (HP), Leo Apotheker, and without Oracle playing a videotaped deposition he gave.
The cat-and-mouse game of Oracle trying to force Apotheker to testify, and HP refusing to allow it, has captivated technology watchers and overshadowed Apotheker’s start as head of the world’s biggest technology company by revenue.
Oracle wanted Apotheker to testify because he was previously SAP’s CEO.
However, Oracle says that HP refused to accept a subpoena on Apotheker’s behalf. HP accused Oracle of harassing Apotheker.
Oracle hired investigators to track down Apotheker, but since he started the HP job on Nov. 1, he wasn’t spotted close enough to the federal courthouse in Oakland, where the case is being tried, for Oracle to serve him with the subpoena.
The subpoena only applies within 161km of the courthouse, which includes HP’s headquarters in Palo Alto.
HP hasn’t disclosed Apotheker’s whereabouts. Representatives have repeatedly said that the company doesn’t discuss its executives’ travel plans.
Oracle is demanding billions of dollars in damages from SAP for software and customer support documents that SAP has admitted to stealing. SAP claims it owes only US$40 million. Closing arguments are expected next week.
HP got roped into the mess when it hired Apotheker to replace HP’s former CEO, Mark Hurd, who was ousted after a sexual-harassment investigation.
Oracle insists that Apotheker oversaw the scheme at SAP. An Oracle lawyer, David Boies, said after Friday’s hearing that Apotheker’s videotaped deposition wasn’t shown because it was taken two years ago, before SAP admitted to the theft. HP has said Apotheker had limited knowledge about the matter.
Oracle has already reaped a public relations bonanza from Apotheker’s absence. The company is using it as another way to attack HP as the companies’ longtime friendship has turned frosty over Oracle’s entry into the HP stronghold of selling computer servers. Earlier, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison blasted HP for firing Hurd and promptly hired him to serve as an Oracle co-president.
HP is scheduled to report quarterly earnings tomorrow. Investors are awaiting commentary from Apotheker about his strategy for the company. HP is the world’s biggest maker of personal computers and printers.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last