Oracle hits UK reseller with lawsuit for allegedly reselling grey market Sun hardware
(2021/06/07)
- Reference: 1623057310
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/06/07/oracle_txo_systems_sun_microsystems_ip_lawsuit/
- Source link:
Oracle has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against a British reseller that — it claims — infringed Sun Microsystems’ intellectual property by engaging in grey market reselling.
TXO Systems is accused having “offered for sale and/or sold goods bearing the Sun Trade Marks and/or the Oracle Trade Marks which have not been put on the market in the UK or the EEA by or with the consent of the Claimants or the Oracle Group.”
Oracle claims TXO offered a total of 343 Sun and Oracle-branded products to Wildfire Systems Ltd which Oracle alleges were originally “put on the market in the USA, Australia, Andorra and Bosnia & Herzegovina” as well as China.
[1]
From court documents obtained by The Register it appears that Oracle has had its eye on TXO for some time, judging by events referred to in the particulars of claim against the reseller. The Chepstow-based company was hit with Oracle's High Court suit a fortnight ago.
[2]
[3]
While the offer of 343 servers to Wildfire was allegedly made in December 2020, a TXO salesman is claimed to have offered four new Sun servers to a Danish company called Epoka A/S in 2015. In addition, TXO is also claimed to have bought two servers from Germany which were later found, in Oracle’s words, to contain “components which had not been put on the market in the UK or the EEA”.
Lawsuits against resellers are not uncommon in the Western world’s courts. Last year Microsoft [4]sued a Florida firm over alleged copyright infringement , while a few years ago HPE won £1.95m in the High Court after a judge ruled that a small HPE reseller [5]had abused the firm’s special bid pricing mechanisms . Lawsuit traffic is not all one way, however: a reseller is [6]suing Microsoft for £270m over restrictive software licence contracts .
[7]
TXO has not yet filed its defence to Oracle’s claims. We have asked the company for comment and have also approached Wildfire Systems. Neither firm responded.
[8]Distie bosses tuck 7-figure settlement into Cisco's top pocket
[9]'Grey tech' broker DP Data Systems has gone titsup
[10]HP: We will eradicate the colour grey from our market
[11]Feel Cisco's WRATH: Over 1,000 placed on DENIED partner sh*t list
[12]Second-hand software broker: OK Microsoft – we made a mistake
[13]The Tesco ruling – what does it mean for grey MS software?
“The Claimants are unable at this stage to quantify their damage however they believe it to be substantial,” said a vaguely threatening Oracle. As well as financial damages, the Sun owner is seeking an injunction preventing TXO selling more Sun or Oracle-branded gear, an account of profits, payment of those profits to Oracle, and “an order for dissemination and publication of the Judgment at the expense of the Defendant”.
The case continues. ®
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[4] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/05/microsoft_sueball/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2016/07/28/hope_icp_fraud_case/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/08/valuelicensing_microsoft_lawsuit/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YL3uZ87mVD21Ggv4T0gXIAAAAEY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2018/07/05/distributor_bosses_had_7figure_settlement_to_cisco_for_dodgy_importing/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2016/05/25/grey_broker_dp_data_systems_goes_tits_up/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2014/09/12/hp_grey_police/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2013/11/08/phoenix_it_group_cisco/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2014/02/05/microsoft_discount_licensing/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2001/11/21/the_tesco_ruling_what_does/
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
TXO Systems is accused having “offered for sale and/or sold goods bearing the Sun Trade Marks and/or the Oracle Trade Marks which have not been put on the market in the UK or the EEA by or with the consent of the Claimants or the Oracle Group.”
Oracle claims TXO offered a total of 343 Sun and Oracle-branded products to Wildfire Systems Ltd which Oracle alleges were originally “put on the market in the USA, Australia, Andorra and Bosnia & Herzegovina” as well as China.
[1]
From court documents obtained by The Register it appears that Oracle has had its eye on TXO for some time, judging by events referred to in the particulars of claim against the reseller. The Chepstow-based company was hit with Oracle's High Court suit a fortnight ago.
[2]
[3]
While the offer of 343 servers to Wildfire was allegedly made in December 2020, a TXO salesman is claimed to have offered four new Sun servers to a Danish company called Epoka A/S in 2015. In addition, TXO is also claimed to have bought two servers from Germany which were later found, in Oracle’s words, to contain “components which had not been put on the market in the UK or the EEA”.
Lawsuits against resellers are not uncommon in the Western world’s courts. Last year Microsoft [4]sued a Florida firm over alleged copyright infringement , while a few years ago HPE won £1.95m in the High Court after a judge ruled that a small HPE reseller [5]had abused the firm’s special bid pricing mechanisms . Lawsuit traffic is not all one way, however: a reseller is [6]suing Microsoft for £270m over restrictive software licence contracts .
[7]
TXO has not yet filed its defence to Oracle’s claims. We have asked the company for comment and have also approached Wildfire Systems. Neither firm responded.
[8]Distie bosses tuck 7-figure settlement into Cisco's top pocket
[9]'Grey tech' broker DP Data Systems has gone titsup
[10]HP: We will eradicate the colour grey from our market
[11]Feel Cisco's WRATH: Over 1,000 placed on DENIED partner sh*t list
[12]Second-hand software broker: OK Microsoft – we made a mistake
[13]The Tesco ruling – what does it mean for grey MS software?
“The Claimants are unable at this stage to quantify their damage however they believe it to be substantial,” said a vaguely threatening Oracle. As well as financial damages, the Sun owner is seeking an injunction preventing TXO selling more Sun or Oracle-branded gear, an account of profits, payment of those profits to Oracle, and “an order for dissemination and publication of the Judgment at the expense of the Defendant”.
The case continues. ®
Get our [14]Tech Resources
[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YL3uZ87mVD21Ggv4T0gXIAAAAEY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
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[4] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/05/microsoft_sueball/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2016/07/28/hope_icp_fraud_case/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/08/valuelicensing_microsoft_lawsuit/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YL3uZ87mVD21Ggv4T0gXIAAAAEY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2018/07/05/distributor_bosses_had_7figure_settlement_to_cisco_for_dodgy_importing/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2016/05/25/grey_broker_dp_data_systems_goes_tits_up/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2014/09/12/hp_grey_police/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2013/11/08/phoenix_it_group_cisco/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2014/02/05/microsoft_discount_licensing/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2001/11/21/the_tesco_ruling_what_does/
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
TVU
So, Oracle is suing someone (again).
Ultimately, I think this will be self defeating in the long term. If companies can't get used kit from reputable resellers then they will have no choice but to abandon Oracle and Sun equipment entirely.
anonymous boring coward
I didn't know there still was Sun hardware!?
Getting all nostalgic now about Pizza Box Sun machines... Unobtainable luxury powerful machines with gigantic screens and graphical interfaces, and three button mice.
Did I read that right?
Mishak
Oracle have been watching what was going on for some time before taking action? If so, should they be due "compensation" for instances after they were first aware of the problem as they could (should) have issued a "cease and desist" at that time?
Out IBM'ing IBM
Even Big Blue allowed the 'grey market' to operate on mainframes. As long as you had a Maintenance Acceptance Qualification letter from the original site and followed it up with an MAQ inspection at installation you were good to go. The MAQ inspection would include checking all features installed and verifying that your O?S licencing covered you for that processor band so it was stringent but I bought several second user mainframes in my time as a tech support manager.