Android dispute may be ended by Google Oracle meeting ~ GoAndroid

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Android dispute may be ended by Google Oracle meeting

9:41 PM

Simranpal SIngh

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The CEOs from Oracle and Google are going to face each other in court today for resolving a dispute which is threatening to become the biggest danger to Google’s Android mobile OS, which now runs on over 150 million mobile devices. Larry Page from Google and Larry Ellison from Oracle have been ordered by the court to appear before a magistrate of federal court in San Jose after their year-long tussle over patents. Oracle has accused Google of infringing on its patents related to the Java software of the company, and if the parties agree on a settlement outside the court they will not have to run the risk of having to accept the decision of a jury on the dispute.
A lawyer named Scott Daniels compared the situation with Gorbachev and Reagan, as the biggest probability of settling the dispute will need the CEO’s of both the companies at the scene. The suit filed by Oracle in August 2010 could very well represent a much bigger threat to the Google platform than the court cases filed by Apple Inc. which has already won several decisions against the manufacturers of Android based devices.
During the negotiations for settlements, Page will attempt to avoid paying licensing fees to Oracle, which according to several analyst estimates can go as high as $15 for every device. This fee can lead to slower adoption of the platform by device manufacturers, even as Google gives it away for free.
While arriving at the court house, Page said that the company is looking to have a productive day. The dispute has acquired some more tension as Ellison is under increasing pressure to derive profit from Oracle’s takeover of Sun Microsystems Inc. which owns the Java software which is the center of contention here. He said in an interview that the company will look to do the best that it can.
A Google spokesman, Aaron Zamost, and also an Oracle spokeswoman, Deborah Hellinger, did not comment on the issue. According to Neil Herman, who is an analyst, this lawsuit has seen Ellison demonstrate his caliber as an opponent for Google. Herman said that Larry Ellison has always had a very masterful ability for hiring great attorneys who give him effective advice which lead to his frequent successes in court room battles.