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2 clusters · 4 sources · 5 days · First seen 9 days ago · Last updated 4 days ago

EU scrutiny of Oracle cloud licensing practices

Overview

The European Commission has initiated an inquiry into Oracle’s software licensing practices within cloud environments. Regulators are gathering information to determine if the company’s terms prevent customers from using competing service providers or if they artificially inflate the costs of running software, such as databases, on rival cloud platforms.

While no formal antitrust investigation has been launched, the Commission is monitoring potential anticompetitive behavior. This follows a previous settlement involving SAP, which agreed to simplify contract terminations and migrations to avoid fines.

In a related market development, a secondary market exists for Oracle perpetual licenses, where companies can purchase software at up to 80% lower than new list prices. Under a 2012 European Court of Justice ruling, the trade of used standard software is legal provided specific conditions are met, such as the license being lawfully acquired within the EU and the seller rendering their own copy unusable.

Entities

Oracle · SAP · ProLicense · European Court of Justice · European Commission

Timeline

4 days ago

[BUSINESS] 2 sources
Oracle software licenses available at 80% discount on secondary market
Companies can save up to 80% on Oracle licenses through the secondary market. Legal trade is supported by ECJ rulings, provided a complete chain of evidence for the license transfer is maintained.
9 days ago

[BUSINESS] 2 sources
European Commission examines Oracle cloud licensing practices
The European Commission is gathering information on Oracle’s cloud software licensing practices to check for anticompetitive behavior, following a recent settlement with SAP.

Sources

itiko.de · itreseller.pl · presse-control.de · zentrum-der-gesundheit.de