Oracle has responded to HP’s lawsuit, citing former CEO Mark Hurd has violated his contract with the company in taking a co-President position at Oracle. The statement is short, consisting entirely of the following:

“Oracle has long viewed HP as an important partner,” said Oracle CEO Larry Ellison. “By filing this vindictive lawsuit against Oracle and Mark Hurd, the HP board is acting with utter disregard for that partnership, our joint customers, and their own shareholders and employees. The HP Board is making it virtually impossible for Oracle and HP to continue to cooperate and work together in the IT marketplace.”

The released statement speaks to HP’s position on Hurd himself, as well as the company’s position in relation to Oracle and other partners and competitors. Mark Hopkins has a few ideas of his own regarding the whole situation, saying,

“This was likely a calculated move by Oracle. They had to know that HP would raise questions with regard to the move. There is no way that Hurd could function in that role without acting on what is essentially insider information about an Oracle competitor.”

What we have here is another consideration of coop-atition,” where industry leaders must find ways to navigate their friendly firing grounds. It’s a term we heard a few times while at VMworld, where a number of cloud companies are seeking out partnerships in their strive towards growth and consumer retention. Where do partnerships lie, and when is that team spirit cast aside in a bold move worthy of being considered more than just a statement? And the HP saga lives on (see here for a roundup on Hurd’s journey thus far).