Judge agrees with Virtzilla's argument that the case should be heard in the US, not Germany
VMware appears to have secured an early procedural win in the case it brought against German industrial giant Siemens over its alleged use of unlicensed software.
The case commenced in March 2025, when VMware alleged Siemens' US operations provided it with a list of software for which it wanted to arrange extended support. That list, VMware claims, included plenty of software that Siemens had not licensed. Siemens later provided an amended list of the VMware software it uses.
VMware says it tried to conduct a license audit, but Siemens wouldn't participate. Siemens was upset that VMware did not honor what it felt was a right to acquire extended product support.
Siemens also referred to its contracts with VMware that it says state any dispute between the two must be heard in German courts. But VMware pointed out that as the alleged use of unlicensed software took place in the US, American courts were the appropriate jurisdiction in which to contest the matter.
On Tuesday, Magistrate Judge Laura D. Hatcher, of the Delaware District Court, indicated she likes VMware's argument, issuing a Report and Recommendation that Siemens' attempt to move the case to Germany be denied.
Reports of this sort are documents US courts use to indicate the logic and precedents likely to inform a future decision. As is often the case with these documents, this one gives both parties 14 days to file objections but limits those submissions to ten pages, a restriction intended to focus litigants on the issues raised in the report rather than exploring new arguments.
VMware therefore appears to be in a strong position to have this case heard in its preferred forum.
The virtualization giant has settled similar cases, but its dispute with UK retail giant Tesco continues.
Dell, which is a party to the matter, last month filed its own claim stating it seeks almost £14 million in damages if Tesco prevails. ®