Oracle Seeks $9.3 Billion Payday From Google Over Java Use In Android
Oracle is hoping to score a major damages award from Google in court. Specifically, Oracle wants Google to fork over $9.3 billion, the amount Oracle claims Google now owes it for injecting certain parts of its Java platform into Android, the world's leading mobile operating system (by market share), without a license agreement.
The dispute between Oracle and Google is one that's been going on for over a half a decade. Oracle initially sued Google in 2010, stating at the time that "in at least several instances, Android computer program code also was directly copied from copyrighted Oracle America code." It took two years for that case to go to trial, and when it finally did in 2012, a jury ruled that Google did in fact infringe on Oracle's Java copyrights in Android but was split on whether or not it fell under "fair use."
With the matter still unresolved, Oracle and Google will face off at a federal district court in San Francisco beginning May 9, 2016. It's expected that some big names will take the stand, among them Oracle founder Larry Ellison and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who is now the executive chairman of Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company.
The $9.3 billion Oracle is seeking in damages is far greater than the sum it originally sued Google for in 2010. It's based on calculations made by an expert Oracle hired, though Google also hired a damages expert who's likely to come up with a significantly lesser sum. That sum hasn't been revealed yet, but a recent filing by Oracle suggests it will be no more than $100 million.
Oracle's inflated figure compared to last time takes into account six additional versions of Android going up to (and including) Lollipop. It also underscores how much the smartphone market has grown in the past six years.
The dispute between Oracle and Google is one that's been going on for over a half a decade. Oracle initially sued Google in 2010, stating at the time that "in at least several instances, Android computer program code also was directly copied from copyrighted Oracle America code." It took two years for that case to go to trial, and when it finally did in 2012, a jury ruled that Google did in fact infringe on Oracle's Java copyrights in Android but was split on whether or not it fell under "fair use."
With the matter still unresolved, Oracle and Google will face off at a federal district court in San Francisco beginning May 9, 2016. It's expected that some big names will take the stand, among them Oracle founder Larry Ellison and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who is now the executive chairman of Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company.
The $9.3 billion Oracle is seeking in damages is far greater than the sum it originally sued Google for in 2010. It's based on calculations made by an expert Oracle hired, though Google also hired a damages expert who's likely to come up with a significantly lesser sum. That sum hasn't been revealed yet, but a recent filing by Oracle suggests it will be no more than $100 million.
Oracle's inflated figure compared to last time takes into account six additional versions of Android going up to (and including) Lollipop. It also underscores how much the smartphone market has grown in the past six years.
