Google, Oracle and Java: from a patent spat to a copyright conundrum – The Verge

As Google heads to the Supreme Court, Oracle takes aim at its industry allies

2020-02-19T10:14:24-05:00

For almost 10 years, Google and Oracle have been fighting over a set of Android APIs, and for almost that long, conventional wisdom has been that the tech industry is on Google's side. But as the case moves to the Supreme Court for the second time, Oracle is taking aim at that idea - and calling out Google's allies one by one.

After filing a Supreme Court statement last week, Oracle VP Ken Glueck posted a statement over the weekend assailing the motives of Microsoft, IBM, and the CCIA industry group, all of which have publicly supported Google.

Glueck's post comes shortly after two groups - an interdisciplinary panel of academics and the …

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Supreme Court declines to hear Oracle v. Google case over software copyright

2015-06-29T09:57:01-04:00

The Supreme Court has declined to hear Oracle v. Google, sending the long-running case back to a lower court where Google will have to argue that it made fair use of Oracle's copyrighted APIs. This has been a closely watched case, as the final decision could have a major impact on software development; a ruling in favor of Oracle, the Electronic Frontier Foundation says, could give certain tech firms "unprecedented and dangerous power" over developers by making it substantially more difficult for upstarts to create new software. That'll be the case unless fair use laws turn out to protect the use of APIs.

The case centers on the code behind …

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Federal court overturns Google v. Oracle decision, setting disastrous precedent

2014-05-09T13:53:34-04:00

Today, a federal court overturned an earlier ruling that allowed Google rights to build Oracle's Java API into Android, setting a broad precedent that already has many legal scholars crying foul. If the ruling stands, it will give software companies copyright over their APIs, the interfaces that programs use to communicate with each other. The new standard is good news for Oracle, which holds the rights to Java and its widely used API, but potentially disastrous for software developers that want to build software based on existing APIs. The result could force new services may be forced to start from scratch.

Potentially disastrous for softwa …

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Oracle to pay Google $1.13m in legal costs following failed Android lawsuit

2012-09-05T08:40:46-04:00

Oracle logo (STOCK)

Oracle has been ordered to pay Google $1,130,350 in legal costs following the broad failure of its long-running patent and copyright infringement lawsuit over Android. Google had originally asked for more than $4 million to cover the total costs of the quixotic suit, including significant fees for a third-party e-discovery service paid to surface and copy relevant documents. While the payment was cut back by Judge William Alsup, he was unequivocal in declaring Google the "prevailing party" in the case, and used the ruling to criticize Oracle's lawyers for "craft[ing] broad, and ultimately overreaching, claims of copyright infringement."

Jud …

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Google discloses paid bloggers and journalists, says Stanford professor Mark Lemley is outside counsel

2012-08-27T11:31:03-04:00

Google logo

Google has followed up with a judge's order to disclose anyone it might have paid to influence coverage of its trial against Oracle, and the list includes a well-known Stanford professor who is often quoted without mentioning his relationship to Google. Google had initially told the court it hadn't paid anyone to comment on the case, but the judge ruled Google had "failed to comply" with his request and ordered the company to provide a more detailed list.

All these patent lawsuits have led to increased demand for expert analysis - and potential conflicts of interest

Google opens the new filing by continuing to insist that "neither it nor its …

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Judge: Google ‘failed to comply’ with order to disclose paid journalists and bloggers

2012-08-20T13:18:53-04:00

Google Nexus logo (STOCK)

Earlier this month Judge William Alsup ordered Oracle and Google to disclose any journalists or bloggers either has paid that could have commented on the Oracle v. Google case. Both parties responded last week - but Judge Alsup didn't think Google was completely forthright, and has asked the company to try again by the end of the week.

In a order filed today, Alsup flatly states that "Google has failed to comply" with his original request. Google had said in its initial response that the company hadn't "paid an author, journalist, commentator or blogger to report or comment on any issues in this case" - a definition that Alsup clearly felt …

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Google demands Oracle reimburse over $4 million in costs for Android infringement trial

2012-07-07T04:03:03-04:00

Google Nexus logo (STOCK)

Last month Oracle declined to receive any statutory damages after the disappointing results in its infringement lawsuit against Google, but the search giant let it be known it wanted Oracle to cover its legal costs. This week Google counsel Robert Van Nest made good on the promise, filing an official request that Oracle reimburse the company for over $4 million in costs that it incurred over the course of the trial. The number covers transcripts, expert witness compensation, and more than $2.9 million just for collecting and copying documents. Given the nature of the expenses, it's an imposing figure - made even more so by the fact that Orac …

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Oracle declines copyright infringement damages from Google in anticipation of appeal

2012-06-20T22:57:05-04:00

Oracle logo (STOCK)

Today Oracle's legal team decided to forego any statutory damages in connection with its infringement case against Google. Last month Judge William Alsup ruled that the structure, sequence, and organization or the 37 Java APIs in the case - the cornerstone of Oracle's hopes for a big payday - weren't copyrightable. It left Oracle with two minor infringement counts in hand, related to Google's copying of Java code for Android, with a total possible payout of just $300,000. Computerworld reports that during a hearing today Oracle's attorneys informed Alsup that both companies had agreed Oracle would accept no payment whatsoever at this time.

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Judge: Oracle Java API elements not copyrightable, related claims against Google dismissed

2012-05-31T17:08:04-04:00

Android Java logo combination upside down

Things weren't looking good for Oracle after the jury found that Google hadn't infringed upon the company's patents in the second phase of the trial between the two behemoths, but the issue of infringement of the structure, sequence, and organization of 37 Java APIs was still up in the air. Judge William Alsup ended the discussion today, ruling that the SSO of the APIs is not covered under current copyright law - and dismissing Oracle's related infringement claims outright. The judge had asked the jury to assume the SSO was in fact copyrightable when he sent them into deliberations; under those circumstances, the jurors found that Google had …

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Jury: Google did not infringe Oracle patents with Android

2012-05-23T13:57:11-04:00

Android Java

Over a week after it began deliberations, the jury has returned a verdict in the patent infringement case between Oracle and Google, finding that the search giant did not infringe upon Oracle's patents with Android. In play were infringement counts on eight different claims across two separate patents: RE38,104 and 6,061,520. Given the decision, there will be no need for a damages phase in connection with the patent claims, and with the recent agreement by Google and Oracle to postpone any damages hearings related to copyright infringement, the jury has now been dismissed from the proceedings altogether. Judge William Alsup thanked the juror …

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