Oracle is set to appeal a decision which, if it stands, will require Big Red to make a US$3 billion contribution to HPE’s top line.

HP launched the action in Oracle’s 2011 decision to quit developing software for Intel’s Itanium processors.

Oracle believed there was no future in the Itanium architecture, but HP pressed ahead (it still uses the architecture in its Integrity Superdome family).

In August 2012, the Santa Clara court’s Judge James Kleinberg ruled that Oracle had a contract with HP to port its databases to Itanium, and maintain support for the architecture for as long as HP remained in the Itanium game.

Oracle databases are important to HP because of their position in enterprise workloads.

Determination of damages stalled while Oracle launched, and lost, an appeal against that decision, and a month ago damages hearings resumed.

Now, the jury has agreed with HP’s claim for $1.7 billion in lost sales before the case started, plus $1.3 billion in post-trial sales.

With both trials over, Big Red’s executive veep and general counsel Dorian Daley fired off a statement that it will appeal the decision. ®

Earlier on this story Oracle loses appeal in HP row over Itanium