Oracle and Google in court over Android patents

Database-maker Oracle took Google to court on April 16, alleging that Android smartphone software infringes patents owned by its subsidiary company Sun Microsystems.

Oracle, which acquired Sun Microsystems for $7.4 billion in 2010, claims Google copied elements of language-programming software Java—owned by Sun—and failed to take a licence. Google has denied the claims, saying Sun does not own the disputed application programming interfaces.

The lawsuit, under which Oracle wants $1 billion and an injunction to block Androids using the software, has been dubbed the “world series of IP cases” by district judge William Alsup, who will oversee the jury trial.

Java enables the writing of programs for various operating systems and computers. Developed in the mid-1990s, it runs on billions of mobile devices, including on nearly all 150 million Androids, according to Oracle.

Talks between the two companies broke down despite several attempts to resolve the dispute outside court. The trial, to be held in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco, is expected to last eight weeks.