HPE must pay Oracle €29 million in damages

HPE must pay Oracle €29 million in damages

HPE is forced to pay Oracle $30 million (€29 million) in copyright damages. HPE provided Oracle Solaris OS updates to customers without Oracle’s permission.

HPE and Oracle have recently been facing off in several legal disputes. This year, the US Supreme Court ruled that Oracle has to compensate HPE with no less than $3 billion (€2,9 billion) for a breach of contract.

Now, HPE is on the other side of the fence. Oracle accused HPE and hardware partner Terix of copyright infringement. Both companies updated customers’ Oracle Solaris operating systems without Oracle’s consent. Copyright agreements stipulate that updating is reserved for Oracle. Furthermore, Oracle claims that both companies deliberately interfered with its customer relationships.

Oracle wins this one

The US District Court of Northern California ruled in favour of Oracle. HPE was fined a total of $30 million (€29 million) for violating copyright, plus $24 million (€23 million) for interfering in Oracle’s customer relationship.

Although the fines total $54 million (€52 million), the court ruled that HPE only has to pay the highest fine of $30 million. HPE announced that it disagrees with the court’s decision. The organization is considering an appeal.

Tip: Oracle has to finally pay HPE the $3 billion it owes them