BRUSSELS, Sept 1 (Reuters) – The licensing practices of U.S. cloud computing company Oracle are on the radar of EU antitrust regulators, a person familiar with the matter said, in a case similar to one involving German rival SAP which was settled with concessions in July.
The European Commission, which acts as the EU competition enforcer, is seeking information from third parties on the issue, the person said.
This could help regulators build up a case or drop it if there is no evidence of any wrongdoing.
Oracle did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
“The commission will continue to monitor possible further anticompetitive practices and abusive conduct in this sector. At this stage, however, there is no formal investigation into any company,” a commission spokesperson said.
In July, SAP offered to make it easier for customers to switch to rival service providers or end their contracts, averting a potential fine that could be as much as 10% of its global annual turnover.
News agency MLex was the first to report on the EU scrutiny of Oracle’s licensing practices.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee in Brussels; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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