Oracle v. Google - Copyright & Patent Trial - Day 4

It's day 4 of the Oracle v. Google trial for copyright and patent infringement. Today, the media focused on Oracle's lawyer David Boies' questioning of Google's software engineer Tim Lindholm and Google's use of Java API's in Android.

Part of the questioning was particularly revealing. Shortly before Oracle sued Google in 2010, Google software engineer Tim Lindholm emailed a response to Google executives that had requested he investigate alternatives to Java for Android: "We've been over a bunch of these, and think they all suck. We conclude that we need to negotiate a license for Java under the terms we need." When Oracle's trial lawyer David Boies asked about this, Mr. Lindholm acknowledged his email, but claimed he was not referring to a license from Sun. It was "not specifically a license from anybody." David Boies had no further questions.

If you are interested in more detail about the Lindholm questioning, I suggest the following articles:

• Google's Tim Lindholm faces off with David Boies on Java License - CNET
• Google's Lindholm dances around questions about Java licences - ZDNet

If you are interested in detail about the Java APIs, I suggest the following articles:

• Oracle and Google find common denominator for telling jury about use of Java APIs in Android - FOSS Patents
• APIs take center stage at Oracle-Google trial - CNET

If Java APIs are copyrightable and Google has admitted using Java API's without a license, Oracle may have established liability for copyright infringement. However, this is hotly contested case, the trial is in the first week, and other issues may surface affecting liability.

Copyright © 2012 Robert Moll. All rights reserved.