SAP, along with its TomorrowNow subsidiary, has answered the complaint filed by Oracle on 22 March accusing the German software giant of downloading 'inappropriate' material from Oracle's website.

The filing in a US District Court represents the first formal SAP response to Oracle's complaint. A PDF of the full filing is available here. 

SAP stated that TomorrowNow was authorised to download materials from Oracle's website on behalf of TomorrowNow customers.

However, SAP acknowledged that some "inappropriate downloads of fixes and support documents" occurred at TomorrowNow.

SAP stressed that what was downloaded stayed on TomorrowNow's separate systems. "SAP did not have access to Oracle intellectual property via TomorrowNow," the firm said.

David Mitchell, software practice leader at analyst firm Ovum, said: " There has long been rivalry between SAP and Oracle.

"However, when Oracle accused SAP of corporate theft the rivalry took a new and exciting turn, with the prospect of the two companies resolving the dispute outside of court being quite remote.

"Fighting for market share with marketing siege weapons and hand-to-hand combat in the sales trenches is expected."

Mitchell deemed it "likely" that the case will continue through the legal processes over the coming months.

"Irrespective of the legal conclusion to the case, a significant part of the impact for Oracle and SAP will be related to how each manages the public relations," he said.

"Although many will see the legal teams as the cavalry in this battle, the troops that really matter are the 'PR special forces' contingent. PR is where this battle will be won or lost."

The US Department of Justice has requested that SAP and TomorrowNow provide certain documents. Both companies said that they intend to cooperate fully with the request.

Henning Kagermann, chief executive at SAP AG, said: "Even a single inappropriate download is unacceptable from my perspective. We regret very much that this occurred."

SAP also announced that it has instituted changes in TomorrowNow's operational management to ensure compliance with appropriate business practices.

"I want to reassure our investors, customers, partners and employees that SAP takes any departure from the high standards we set for all of our businesses very seriously, regardless of where it occurred or how confined it may be," said Kagermann.

"When I learned what happened, I promptly took action to strengthen operational oversight at TomorrowNow while assuring that we maintain excellent service for TomorrowNow's customers."