The Oracle v. Google lawsuit in federal court over Google's alleged
illegal use of parts of the Java code base in the Android mobile device
operating system has taken a couple of curious turns.
Turn No. 1: Former Google software architect Dan Bornstein, who helped
create Android, testified April 25 that he took some components of the
Sun-developed Java code out of the configuration shortly after Oracle
filed its lawsuit in 2010 -- only months after acquiring Sun in January
of that year.
Turn No. 2: The presiding judge, William Alsup, will need to decide
whether or not it is proper that his court
reinstitute a now-invalid Java patent. This one could
play a key role in whether Java application programming interfaces
(APIs) are declared part of the open source Java package or separate and
sacrosanct from free use.
All About the APIs
Oracle claims that Google illegally used several Java APIs that Oracle
considers its own intellectual property to help build the Android
operating system. Google contends that the APIs it used cannot be
copyrighted because doing so would be similar to copyrighting a
technique used to perform a task. Legally, techniques are not considered
intellectual property.
Oracle has claimed it deserves about $1 billion in damages as a result
of Google's alleged copyright infringement. The Redwood Shores,
Calif.-based corporation has said it may seek an injunction blocking the
sale of Android-based devices to boot.
The components Bornstein removed from Google's 2010 edition of Android
had been added to it by a third-party contractor, Noser Engineering of
Switzerland, Bornstein told the court. Noser had been directed by the
Google team about what parts of Java it could and could not use when
contributing to the development, Bornstein said.
Asked why he took the code parts out, Bornstein explained that Android,
like most ongoing software projects, is "a living project" that
constantly is being updated and improved.
The former Google architect, who now works for startup called The
Obvious Corp., said at one point he was involved in an internal Google
memo in which it was suggested that for Android coders and architects
with Java experience, it was permissible to use what code they already
knew but not allowable to simply copy code from other sources.
Most successful software developers always have a certain amount of
"stuff in their heads" from previous projects, Bornstein said.
Will a Patent Be Re-Allowed?
On the patent issue, Alsup heard statements from both Google and Oracle
over the possible re-issuance of one U.S. patent, No. 5,966,702, which
protects a Java API.
During pretrial due diligence in 2011, the U.S. Patent Office ruled that
it was invalid and disallowed for the trial after Google requested that
the federal authority revisit it.
Later, however, Oracle appealed that decision, and the patent office
subsequently reversed its ruling. Alsup now has to make a final decision
to allow it back into evidence or strike it from the case completely.
Sun Microsystems co-founder and former CEO and chairman Scott McNealy is scheduled to testify on April 26.
Google contends that Oracle was planning on getting into the smartphone
business itself, would have been a competitor to Android and simply
wants to horn in on the profits of the popular open-source mobile device
system. Ellison testified April 17 that Oracle did at one time consider
acquiring Research In Motion, maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, and
Palm Computing.
Android, released in 2008 by Google to partners such as Samsung, HTC and
other manufacturers for smartphones and tablet PCs, now runs more than
300 million mobile devices.
0 comments:
Post a Comment