Oracle's Ellison says HP lawsuit is spiteful

Oracle chief Larry Ellison today short back at HP's lawsuit over his hiring of former CEO Mark Hurd as Oracle's co-president. The at times controversial executive accused HP of being "vindictive" after having given up its leader and showing "utter disregard" for a claimed partnership between the two. Oracle felt betrayed by the lawsuit, Ellison suggested.

"The HP Board [of Directors] is making it virtually impossible for Oracle and HP to continue to cooperate and work together," he said.

The lawsuit was filed under the argument that Hurd would inevitably provide trade secrets to Oracle and hurt its key enterprise business. Whether or not it can do so isn't clear; California bans non-compete clauses and can't legally stop such a switch unless HP can prove a more serious offense than joining a competitor.

Oracle may be counting on this point to keep Hurd; the language of partnership may be deliberate to reinforce the impression of a complimentary relationship where competition was a non-issue. Ellison is also known to consider the former CEO extremely valuable and said his semi-voluntary departure was as bad as Apple firing Steve Jobs in 1985, giving up an expert that had resuscitated a dying brand.

HP officially asked Hurd to leave after an allegedly personal but non-sexual relationship with a contractor in which he misused expenses both to court the woman and hide their involvement. Some have also claimed that Hurd, while successful, also fit poorly in HP's corporate culture.

By Electronista Staff