Google Vanquishes Oracle In Android Patent Fight

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- In one of Silicon Valley's landmark court battles, Google appears to have won a big victory over Oracle.

A jury on Wednesday cleared Google of violating any of Oracle's patents with its Android mobile software.

Oracle had claimed that Google's Android infringes two patents that Oracle holds on its Java software, a ubiquitous programming language powering everything from phones to websites.

The jury found otherwise.

"Today's jury verdict that Android does not infringe Oracle's patents was a victory not just for Google but the entire Android ecosystem," a Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) spokesman said.

http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/256428/81/Google-vanquishes-Oracle-in-Android-patent-fight-

Oracle v. Google: After the jury verdict, what happens next?

Last year's reports said Oracle could extract up to $6.1 billion from Google over patent infringement. That didn't happen. Here's what's next.

by Declan McCullagh May 23, 2012 2:11 PM PDT

The real impact of today's jury verdict in Oracle's long-running and -- as we now know -- overhyped lawsuit against Google means that the case is basically over. U.S. District Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court of Northern California dismissed the 10 remaining jurors, who served for about a month, and sent them home. What happens next depends on how much more money Oracle CEO Larry Ellison wants to spend on litigation. Ellison could find a reason to appeal Oracle's whopper of a loss on its allegations of patent infringement. Or his attorneys could ask the trial judge to overturn the verdict.

Alsup is hardly likely to agree to the latter. And if Oracle chooses to appeal to the Ninth Circuit, it's facing the steepest of uphill climbs: a U.S. legal tradition that protects jury findings unless there's compelling evidence that jurors acted clearly erroneously. No less an authority than the U.S. Supreme Court has said that, once the jury rules, the losing party is "not free to relitigate the factual dispute in a reviewing court."

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1014_3-57440389/oracle-v-google-after-the-jury-verdict-what-happens-next/

Also note that the Motorola acquisition has closed, so this should give Google enough patent power to shut down all the ridiculous Apple lawsuits, or at least keep the Apple lawyers busy.

We’ve acquired Motorola Mobility

May 22, 2012 at 7:53 PM

The phones in our pockets have become supercomputers that are changing the way we live. It’s now possible to do things we used to think were magic, or only possible on Star Trek—like get directions right from where we are standing; watch a video on YouTube; or take a picture and share the moment instantly with friends.

It’s why I’m excited to announce today that our Motorola Mobility deal has closed. Motorola is a great American tech company that has driven the mobile revolution, with a track record of over 80 years of innovation, including the creation of the first cell phone. We all remember Motorola’s StarTAC, which at the time seemed tiny and showed the real potential of these devices. And as a company who made a big, early bet on Android, Motorola has become an incredibly valuable partner to Google.

Sanjay Jha, who was responsible for building the company and placing that big bet on Android, has stepped down as CEO. I would like to thank him for his efforts and am tremendously pleased that he will be working to ensure a smooth transition as long-time Googler Dennis Woodside takes over as CEO of Motorola Mobility.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/weve-acquired-motorola-mobility.html

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Google’s patent trial win seen as ‘near disaster’ for Oracle

By Karen Gullo, Published: May 24 | Updated: Friday, May 25, 1:59 AM

May 24 (Bloomberg) -- A jury found Google Inc., the largest Web search provider, didn’t infringe Oracle Corp.’s patents in developing Android software, handing the database maker another defeat in a trial in which it sought $1 billion in damages. The 10-person jury ruled unanimously yesterday that neither of the two patents at issue was infringed. While jurors found May 7 that Google infringed Oracle’s copyrights, they deadlocked on whether it was “fair use,” denying Oracle the ability to seek $1 billion in damages and a court order blocking Google from distributing the smartphone software without paying for a license.

“This case is maybe something like a near disaster for Oracle,” Love said yesterday in a phone interview. The jury found May 7 that Google had copied nine lines of Oracle code in Android, which has 15 million lines of code. That finding may not translate to big damages. Oracle may be limited to seeking about $150,000, the most allowed by law, for the copying, the presiding judge in the case has said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/googles-patent-trial-win-seen-as-near-disaster-for-oracle/2012/05/24/gJQA0HNgnU_story.html