Oracle Files Lawsuit Against Companies Offering Illegal Tech Support

Oracle has filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Northern District of California against two IT service providers, Maintech and Terix. According to the lawsuit, the two companies have provided illegal support for Oracle's Solaris OS software, having encouraged customers to cancel their Oracle support subscriptions.

The filing from Oracle states that both of the service providers led customers to believe that they're authorized to provide support for Oracle's software, which includes software updates. Furthermore, says Oracle, the two companies acquire the software updates in an "unathorized" manner that includes the use of login information that has expired.

Not surprisingly, both Maintech and Terix have denounced such claims. Said Terix's CEO Bernd Appleby: "Oracles [sic] complaint is without any basis in either law or fact. Terix fully respects and diligently strives to protect the intellectual property of any third party. Terix acts only as an authorized agent of the end-users, pursuant to their rights, to facilitate support services."

Terix goes on to state that all the users named in the filing had valid Oracle rights and licenses, among others, with their login info only being used for their own issues. For its part, Oracle is seeking an injunction – both preliminary and permanent – against both companies, as well as payment in the form of damages, restitution, and return of any and all intellectual property.

This isn't the first time companies have been accused of providing unauthorized support for Solaris software, and is a further push on Oracle's part to stomp on third-party vendors that pose a threat to its support revenue stream. Such third-party vendors, however, feel that there is nothing wrong with their services, and contend that they work within the rights of the customers.

SOURCE: Network World