A U.S. court on Friday granted SAP's request for a "stay of execution" while it proceeds with post-trial motions in the case and, potentially, an appeal, according to a entered Friday at the District Court in Oakland, California.

SAP has argued that the size of the award was excessive and that the method used to calculate damages was not appropriate. It is also seeking a retrial.

Oracle sued SAP after it discovered that a company SAP acquired in 2005, TomorrowNow, had been downloading Oracle support materials illegally from an Oracle's customer support Web site.

SAP didn't contest the downloads took place and has since shut down the subsidiary. The trial was largely to determine how much SAP should pay in damages.

In November, after a high-profile trial that saw Oracle CEO Larry Ellison in the witness stand, the jury sided largely with Oracle and awarded it $1.3 billion. SAP had argued the fine should have been in the tens of millions.