Oracle Corp has fallen out with research firm Meta Group Inc over allegations that the database vendor is overcharging some of its customers. Redwood Shores, California-based Oracle has taken umbrage with Meta's assertion that some customers are being overcharged for batch-feeding Oracle's eponymous database management system.

A senior analyst at Stamford, Connecticut-based Meta has reported that Oracle customers have contacted the research firm to complain that the company has told them they are not paying enough to set up Oracle-based data warehouses. The problem centers over whether multiple employees sending batch-feeds to an Oracle database are covered by a single license or each require an individual license.

Oracle has changed its user licensing several times in recent years, but Meta has suggested that the confusion is caused not by a change of licensing terms, but by Oracle attempting to garner more license fees from existing users. Meta has further encouraged its clients to resist Oracle's claims for more fees, and urged them to take the matter to court if necessary.

Oracle has responded by saying that the matter concerns a small number of customers that have been licensed incorrectly, who will continue to be covered by older license policies. Oracle said it is aware of seven customers that have complained, while Meta says that it has identified at least nine complainants.

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