Oracle Should Get $40.6 Million At Most, Says SAP Expert

SAP AG should have to pay Oracle Corp no more than $40.6 million to resolve their years-long lawsuit over software theft, an SAP damages expert said.

Stephen Clarke, SAP's expert, said in court that damages must be the product of a reasonable business calculation, not an emotional reaction to the theft.

"There's no anger allowed. There's no punishment allowed," Clarke said.

SAP and Oracle, which dominate the global market for software that helps businesses run more efficiently, are battling in court to determine the amount of damages for software theft by SAP.

SAP has accepted liability for its TomorrowNow subsidiary having wrongfully downloaded millions of Oracle files.

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Last week, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said his company would have charged SAP $4 billion to license the programs that were wrongfully downloaded. Oracle's own expert later pegged damages at $1.6 billion.

Oracle's claims include copyright infringement, violations of California and federal computer fraud acts, breach of contract and intentional interference with the company's business interests.

Out of 853 customers SAP was able to woo from Oracle, 561 of them never did any business with TomorrowNow, Clarke said.

Clarke also acknowledged that SAP has paid his own firm about $14 million in fees. Oracle's damages expert testified last week that he had earned fees of about $4 million.

SAP is expected to rest its case after Clarke is finished testifying this week, at which point Oracle may attempt to put on a rebuttal case.