Name Games: DLT Solutions Set To Block Federal Integrator From Using DLT Name
That integrator, known as DLT Federal Business Systems Corp. (DLT FBSC) of Wilmington, Del., is being sued by Oracle Corp. The software giant last week filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, alleging that DLT Federal Business Systems Corp (DLT-FBSC) stole and distributed "copyrighted proprietary Oracle Software code."
[Related: ServiceKey President: Service Provider Wrongly Accused In Oracle Lawsuit ]
DLT Solutions of Herndon, Va., meanwhile, is a top Oracle partner that has won numerous industry awards. DLT Solutions President Rick Marcotte told CRN that his company is in the process of preparing legal documents to file a cease and desist order as part of a trademark/name infringement case to stop DLT-FBSC from using the DLT name.
"There is no relation between DLT-FBSC and DLT Solutions," said Marcotte. "Clearly DLT-FSBC thought that hijacking the name "DLT" would somehow give them added credility in the public sector market especially related to the Oracle segment. Competing in the IT (information technology space) is hard enough without having your good name hijacked and misrepresented in the market by a bunch of sinister people. The fact of the matter is this has the potential to have a disruptive impact on our business and we are going to take them to task for it."
DLT Federal Business Systems Corp. has not responded to repeated phone calls regarding the Oracle suit or the plan by DLT to file suit.
The differences between DLT Solutions and DLT Federal Business Systems Corp. couldn't be greater. DLT Solutions is a VAR500 powerhouse with $790 million in sales. DLT Federal Business Systems Corp. is listed on GovWin.com listing as a three-year-old small business with fewer than 50 employees and between $1 million and $10 million in sales. On the Hoovers database, the information on DLT Federal Busines Systems Corp. is sparse with employees listed at all sites as one.
Marcotte said the fallout from the DLT Federal Business Systems Corp.-Oracle suit has been mitigated by DLT Solutions' stellar reputation in the federal market where DLT Solutions is well known for its high standards and integrity serving government agencies. "If we were selling into the commercial market it would be a much bigger deal," Marcotte said. "We are very well known in the federal market with the customers we support."
Marcotte said he first became aware of DLT Federal Business Systems Corp. late last year and he discussed the matter with Oracle.
"Oracle is finally taking a laser focus to blow them out of the water," said Marcotte of the Oracle suit against DLT Federal Business Systems Corp. "And knowing Oracle's legal budget and persistence on matters such as this, I would not want to be in the shoes of DLT-FSBC."
DLT isn't the only one interested in getting to the bottom of the DLT-FBSC scandal. ServiceKey, a Norcross, Ga. service provider, was also named in what Oracle has called in the suit a gray market conspirary, but ServiceKey claims it was wrongfully accused.
In fact, ServiceKey said its only apparent connection to the case is a former ServiceKey employee named in the Oracle complaint who left ServiceKey 17 months ago.
ServiceKey has already contacted local police and the fraud information technology unit of the FBI in an effort to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.
Marcotte, for his part, said the matter is a distraction as DLT Solutions moves aggressively to keep its "eye on what it does best: marketing and selling technology products and services to public sector customers."