HP Drops Action Against Former CEO, Friends with Oracle Again

As some may or may not know, Mark Hurd, HP's former CEO, left the company some time ago, but was hired by Oracle soon after, prompting HP to start a legal action against him, action that has now apparently been dropped.

Mark Hurd left HP after a fairly successful run because he was the subject of an investigation into inappropriate behavior.

The investigations ultimately found nothing, but HP did claim that some other rules of conduct had been breached and, thus, saw fit to terminate the collaboration.

No more than a few days later, however, Hurd was hired by Oracle and promptly accepted a leading position in its staff, that of co-President to be exact.

HP, predictably, was not at all pleased by this and started a legal action against him because it felt its trade secrets were being threatened.

Basically, the PC maker felt that its former CEO had taken up a job with its rival far too soon and would inevitably disclose trade secrets and confidential information.

Now, it appears that Oracle and HP have come to a settlement that lets Hurd work at Oracle while still not endangering HP's business practices.

"HP and Oracle have been important partners for more than 20 years and are committed to working together to provide exceptional products and service to our customers," said Cathie Lesjak, chief financial officer and interim chief executive officer, HP.

"We look forward to collaborating with Oracle in the future," new interim CEO added.

“Oracle and HP will continue to build and expand a partnership that has already lasted for over 25 years,” said Oracle CEO Larry Ellison.

Unfortunately, the terms of the agreement are confidential, the only thing mentioned in the press release being that Mark Hurd will “adhere to his obligations to protect HP’s confidential information while fulfilling his responsibilities at Oracle.”