SOFTWARE CASE:Oracle violated a contract with Hewlett-Packard when it decided to no longer make new versions of its database software compatible with HP's Itanium- based servers, a lawyer for HP said in court yesterday.

The technology firms faced off for opening statements in a lawsuit over Oracle’s decision to end support for Itanium.

The trial, in which HP seeks up to $4 billion in damages, comes days after Oracle lost a case against Google over smartphone technology.

Oracle decided to stop developing software for use with Itanium last year, saying Intel made it clear that the chip was nearing the end of its life and was shifting its focus to its x86 microprocessor.