So in the matter of tech soap operas and lawsuits, you might be up above your head with everything Apple vs. Samsung. And because of the spotlight on those two tech giants, you might not be seeing an equally significant lawsuit that’s going on these days – Oracle vs. Android might just be flying under your radar. But this is our job, yes? We make sure you get your balanced fill of tech lawsuits.
So the lawsuit basically goes like this – for over half a decade now, Oracle has been going after Google as the former claims copyright infringement around the use of Java APIs in Android. The new info is this: Oracle is seeking a monstrous sum in damages, USD$9.3 billion to match the profits that Google has made from Android.
Technically, Oracle did not create Java, that honor belongs to Sun Microsystems, which Oracle acquired in early 2010. Almost immediately after said acquisition, Oracle went after Google for purportedly infringing on the intellectual property rights for Java. Android really doesn’t use all of Java in its operating system, but it does use some of Java’s APIs. Oracle deems this usage a matter of copyright infringement, hence the lawsuit.
Google has always claimed that APIs fall under the popular “fair use policy”, which allows for limited usage of items under copyright. The case has bounced between judges, some of them ruling for Oracle and some ruling with Google on fair use. We’re yet to see the end of this drama, so add this to your list of favorite things to follow in technology.
VIA: PCWorld
Sucks but Oracle is on the right. Good thing Google settled with Microsoft before they got sued. Since things like Drop Down Menu, Wall Papers and Pretty much Customization came from WINDOWS MOBILE. Maybe Oracle needs to hire Hulk Hogans Lawyers.
Oracle acquired Sun for $5.6 billion in 2010. Java was just a part of that. Sun also had Sparc, Solaris, MySQL, and various other projects. Google should have acquired Sun instead, sold off the parts it didn’t want, and just keep Java.
This lawsuit is ridiculous. Also, Google should just hire top Java engineers, make a better Java (not Go or Dart) that fixes all the problems, and the Java community will just move over to Google’s language.
well said.