"Can you define 'sell' for me?" Meyer asked.

Mittlestandt grew frustrated -- "Can you just answer yes or no please?" he asked several times -- but he managed to stay calm. He impeached Meyer four times during his cross-examination for appearing to contradict his earlier testimony.

He questioned Meyer's assumption that SAP expected to convert 50 percent of Oracle's PeopleSoft customers to its own services and applications. SAP board member Shai Agassi had testified that the 50 percent figure was an "aspirational goal" rather than an expectation.

"You're not saying that for a person making a decision on a rational basis, that an 'aspirational goal' would be a reason to pay a billion dollars [for an Oracle software license]?" Mittelstaedt asked.

"That's one piece from thousands of data sources," Meyer said.