NEWS ANALYSIS: The Google and Oracle lawsuit is far from over and, if anything, has become more complicated with the partial verdict the jury handed up on May 7. There are a number of points observers need to follow to see where this case is going from here.
Google and Oracle have been fighting a tenacious legal battle over Java and
Android that, by all measures, is far from over. However, on May 7,
a jury delivered a partial verdict in the case that, in some ways, gives
Oracle a slight victory, although both sides are now claiming victory.
The jury said that Google infringed Oracle copyrights for programming tools,
as well as just nine lines of code in its Android operating system. Beyond
that, Oracle would not be allowed to seek the $1 billion in damages Oracle had
been requesting.
The verdict was rather surprising and speaks to the uncertainty that
surrounds the mobile world. From Apple to Samsung to Google to Motorola,
countless companies are arguing that a competitor violates a patent or
copyright that they hold, and in every single case so far, not one of them has
been able to reach a final, definitive agreement. Like it or not, these cases
will be around for many more years, and judging by the initial ruling in the
Google-Oracle case, they won't come to a swift, easy conclusion.
Read
on to find out what you should know about the Google-Oracle lawsuit.
1. It's all about Java
Although much of the focus surrounding Oracle's case against Google
currently revolves around Android,
the real center of the lawsuit is Java. Oracle has argued that Google
violates Java copyrights (not patents) in Android, while the search company
says it's innocent.
2. Oracle wants serious cash
Oracle has asked the court for $1 billion in damages for Google allegedly
copying its intellectual property in Android. However, that figure has long
been viewed as wildly expensive, and even if Oracle eventually ekes out a
definitive victory, its damages likely won't be anywhere near that high.
3. Google had been willing to come to terms
Although Google has asserted its innocence, the company has reportedly been
willing to come to terms with Oracle to prevent a long, expensive, and
drawn-out lawsuit. However, Oracle has said that the terms were not acceptable,
which brought the companies to the current case.
4. Google lost
Now that the background is out of the way, let's get to the present: Google
lost in the first ruling in the case. A jury found that the search company did,
indeed, infringe upon Oracle's Java in nine lines of code. The jury also found
that Google infringed on 37 Java APIs. So, Google lost the first battle in the
war.
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