Oracle Java vs. Google Android: Larry’s Final Gift to Steve?
Google Chairman Eric Schmidt is on the stand today, the latest witness in the ongoing Oracle Java vs. Google Android lawsuit. The VAR Guy has no idea who will win the case, in which Oracle alleges Google Android violates Java patents and copyrights. Still, our resident blogger can’t ignore the irony: Will Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, one of Steve Jobs’ best friends, ultimately help Apple in its war against Android?
In the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson, Jobs is quoted as saying:
“I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple’s $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong. I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this.”
Oracle, meanwhile, filed suite against Google in 2010 and is seeking damages of about $1 billion from Google, according to Marketwatch. There are now more than 300 million Android devices worldwide, and Oracle alleges Google violated Java patents and copyrights to make Android a success.
Hmmm… The VAR Guy certainly respects the need for intellectual property protection. But can Oracle really prove Google’s guilt? Our resident blogger is also reminded of another famous Steve Jobs line, quoting Picasso: “Good artists copy, great artists steal.”
The trial, which kicked off last week, is expected to last as long as 10 weeks, according to the LA Times. And even then, experts warn, the outcome could be appealed all the way to the Supreme Court… or settled in a back room between Oracle and Google attorneys.
Somewhere, the spirit of Steve Jobs is watching closely.
Schmidt is Google’s chairman NOT Oracle’s.
As you know I am one of Google’s biggest fanboys, and even I am on the fence here about what the outcome is going to be. There is always something that we simply don’t know that has happened which could turn the case one way or another. I will be keeping an eye out for your coverage and take on the results.
Jbo: The VAR Guy had a brain freeze. Story corrected.
NetApex: Imagine being one of the jurors with all these technical terms flying around. Credibility on the witness stand could be the deciding factor… …
-TVG
That’s a very good point. Most jurors arrant going to be very technical, but they will understand “we created this, you are using it without paying.” Google is going to have a hard time putting their case in laymans terms to combat that.
Yup. And here’s another simple concept: Every other company that wanted to use Java essentially worked out a deal with Oracle/Sun. Google didn’t work out such a deal.
But: The VAR Guy is not suggesting that Google is guilty (or innocent). The VAR Guy is not a legal expert nor is he in the courtroom listening to testimony.
-TVG
Well.. it seems “something” was decided at least. http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/7/3004697/oracle-google-trial-deadlocked-jury-partial-verdict Possibly the best outcome possible for Google given the evidence.