SAP AG's TomorrowNow subsidiary has finally publicly commented on the legal action it's facing from SAP's bitter applications rival Oracle Corp.

More than two weeks ago, on March 22, Oracle filed a surprise lawsuit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco against SAP, its SAP America division, its TomorrowNow subsidiary and 50 unnamed individuals Oracle claims were SAP employees. Oracle alleges the defendants violated U.S. fraud legislation and engaged in unfair competition and civil conspiracy.

"We are still reviewing the matter and until we have a chance to more fully understand the allegations, it would not be prudent to comment on the pending litigation other than to make it clear to our customers, prospects, investors, employees, and partners that SAP will aggressively defend against the claims made by Oracle in the lawsuit," TomorrowNow said in a statement issued Monday. "SAP will remain focused on delivering products and services --including those from TomorrowNow -- that ensure success for our clients."

TomorrowNow parent company SAP issued a statement very much along the same lines the day after Oracle filed the lawsuit. Why it has taken TomorrowNow so long to officially respond is unclear. Previously, the subsidiary directed all requests for comment to its SAP parent.

SAP acquired TomorrowNow in January 2005 and the subsidiary provides support and maintenance services primarily for PeopleSoft, JD Edwards and Siebel customers. Oracle owns all three application families after having previously purchased PeopleSoft and Siebel.

Oracle's complaint alleges that one or more staff at TomorrowNow pretended to be Oracle customers and illegally hacked into its secure support Web site for users of PeopleSoft and JD Edwards applications. Oracle further alleges that SAP then copied content from the Oracle site and used it to offer Oracle customers cut-rate support services in the hopes of eventually migrating them to SAP's rival applications.

Monday's TomorrowNow statement also referred to the company's intention to continue delivering support services to its customers, adding, "We are confident in the strength and value of our support services and in all aspects of our business model. We will continue to support our clients, as we have always done, with quality and professionalism."

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.