Judge denies Oracle attempt to delay SAP trial

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Oracle Corp failed in its attempt to delay the start of a high-profile trade secrets case against SAP AG, and SAP was unsuccessful in its bid for a gag order during the trial, according to a court filing made public on Friday.

Jury selection is still scheduled to begin November 1 in the case.

Oracle contends that SAP employees illegally downloaded programs from an Oracle customer service website, then used that software to provide low-cost maintenance services on Oracle's software.

This week, SAP acknowledged that it had directly contributed to efforts to infringe on Oracle's intellectual property. Due to that admission, Oracle had sought to delay the start of trial until November 4.

Because the trial only concerns damages, evidence on SAP's "contributory infringement" will be excluded unless it relates to damages or is useful for "context," U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton ruled.

The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is Oracle USA, Inc., et al. v. SAP AG, et al, 07-1658.

(Reporting by Dan Levine)