Dive Brief:
- VMware accused Siemens AG of impeding progress in a civil suit over software licenses in a Friday letter filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. The Broadcom-owned company initiated the legal action in March, claiming Siemens requested support services for VMware software it had never purchased.
- “Siemens’s attempts to delay discovery and progress in the suit is consistent with the conduct that led to this action,” VMware said in the letter. “Siemens provided information showing that it had far exceeded the scope of its license for VMware products and then refused to provide information to verify its subsequent denials of overuse.”
- Siemens fired back in a Monday letter to the court signaling its intent to a motion to dismiss. “Siemens has not delayed this case in any way,” the company said. “The best use of judicial and party resources would be to postpone any discussion regarding discovery until after these motions are resolved.”
Dive Insight:
The Siemens spat is the second clash with a major customer to reach the courts in the year-and-a-half since Broadcom completed its $61 billion VMware takeover.
In November, AT&T agreed to a settlement-in-principle with Broadcom, forestalling further action in a breach-of-contract dispute over VMware licensing and support services. The telecommunications company was seeking injunctive relief from a more than tenfold VMware price hike in a New York State Supreme Court case filed in August.
The more recent storm over Siemens’ VMware deployments coalesced around the company’s attempt to procure a one-year support services extension for previously purchased products. In the initial complaint, VMware claimed a September request included a list revealing Siemens “downloaded, copied, distributed and deployed thousands of copies of VMware products for which it had never purchased a license.”
Siemens, the filing indicated, submitted a revised October list “closer in line with VMware’s records of Siemens’s licenses,” without explaining the changes or discrepancies. VMware also said Siemens declined to submit to an independent software audit.
The litigants subsequently agreed to extend Siemens’ time to respond by 60-days until June 10. VMware said it would provide interim maintenance and support services “due to the unique circumstances of the case,” but reserved the right to seek future compensation.
While neither company responded to requests for comment Monday, Siemens indicated in its letter to the court that it would comply with any official rulings, including one to engage in the discovery conference requested by VMware.
