Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Home
Business
Business Home
Economy
Technology
Media
Small Business
Legal
Deals
Earnings
Social Pulse
Business Video
The Freeland File
Markets
Markets Home
U.S. Markets
European Markets
Asian Markets
Global Market Data
Indices
M&A
Stocks
Bonds
Currencies
Commodities
Futures
Funds
peHUB
World
World Home
U.S.
Brazil
China
Euro Zone
Japan
Mexico
Russia
India Insight
World Video
Reuters Investigates
Decoder
Politics
Politics Home
Election 2012
Issues 2012
Candidates 2012
Tales from the Trail
Political Punchlines
Supreme Court
Politics Video
Tech
Technology Home
MediaFile
Science
Tech Video
Tech Tonic
Social Pulse
Opinion
Opinion Home
Chrystia Freeland
John Lloyd
Felix Salmon
Jack Shafer
David Rohde
Bernd Debusmann
Nader Mousavizadeh
Lucy P. Marcus
David Cay Johnston
Bethany McLean
Edward Hadas
Hugo Dixon
Ian Bremmer
Lawrence Summers
Susan Glasser
The Great Debate
Steven Brill
Jack & Suzy Welch
Breakingviews
Equities
Credit
Private Equity
M&A
Macro & Markets
Politics
Breakingviews Video
Money
Money Home
Tax Break
Lipper Awards 2012
Global Investing
MuniLand
Unstructured Finance
Linda Stern
Mark Miller
John Wasik
James Saft
Analyst Research
Alerts
Watchlist
Portfolio
Stock Screener
Fund Screener
Personal Finance Video
Money Clip
Investing 201
Life
Health
Sports
Arts
Faithworld
Business Traveler
Entertainment
Oddly Enough
Lifestyle Video
Pictures
Pictures Home
Reuters Photographers
Full Focus
Video
Reuters TV
Reuters News
Article
Comments (0)
Counterparties: Today's Best Links
An illustrated guide to "pink slime"
The scandal over the quality of meat in some school lunches isn't just about "pink slime." ProPublica looks at "white slime," "pink slime" and other controversial meat industry products. Read more at Counterparties
Must Read: JPMorgan's big bets
Where the job market is recovering
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
North Korea's rocket launch ends in failure: South Korea
12 Apr 2012
Exclusive: Iran ships "off radar" as Tehran conceals oil sales
10:23am EDT
Embarrassed by rocket crash, North Korea may try nuclear test
|
12:05pm EDT
Big gap between races in U.S. on Trayvon Martin killing
12 Apr 2012
Flap over Ann Romney shows campaigns' anxiety on women voters
9:54am EDT
Discussed
292
Trayvon Martin call was ”mistake, not deliberate”: NBC
118
Obama healthcare law could sharply worsen U.S. deficits: study
92
North Korea launches rocket amid international condemnation
Watched
North Korea rocket launch fails
12:07am EDT
"Robo-guard" on patrol in South Korean prison
Thu, Apr 12 2012
Transgender beauty says she wants to compete for Miss Universe
Tue, Apr 3 2012
Pictures
Reuters Photojournalism
Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more
Inside North Korea
Rare scenes from within the reclusive state. Slideshow
Refugee art
Drawings on the canvas of tents in Syrian refugee camps on the Turkish-Syrian border. Slideshow
Oracle kicks off busy trial season against Google
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Related News
Google stock split helps Page, Brin maintain grip
Thu, Apr 12 2012
Facebook to buy Instagram for $1 billion
Mon, Apr 9 2012
Microsoft trumps Amazon, others for AOL patents
Mon, Apr 9 2012
Viacom wins reversal in landmark YouTube case
Thu, Apr 5 2012
Accused September 11 mastermind to face trial at Guantanamo
Wed, Apr 4 2012
Analysis & Opinion
Google’s evil stock split
Google rejoins tech’s governance race to bottom
Related Topics
Tech »
Media »
The company logo is shown at the headquarters of Oracle Corporation in Redwood City, California February 2, 2010.
Credit: Reuters/Robert Galbraith
By Dan Levine
SAN FRANCISCO |
Fri Apr 13, 2012 7:36am EDT
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Oracle Corp is set to go to trial next week against Google Inc in a high-stakes dispute over smartphone technology, the biggest case in what is shaping up to be an intense year in court for the enterprise software giant.
Jury selection is set for Monday in San Francisco federal court. Oracle claims Google's Android operating system tramples on its intellectual property rights to the Java programming language. Google says it doesn't violate Oracle's patents, and that Oracle cannot copyright certain parts of Java.
The case is the first of four big tech trials involving Oracle scheduled for the next few months - three in Northern California, and one in Nevada.
The others include one set for the end of May against Hewlett-Packard over the Itanium microprocessor, a retrial against SAP AG in June over alleged copyright infringement, and another copyright case against smaller competitor Rimini Street expected later in the year.
Fighting so many court battles back-to-back could be distracting for Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison and other top executives, not to mention costly, as legal fees pile up.
Yet, observers say it's not surprising that Oracle would be so aggressive in court, pointing to Ellison's reputation as unyielding. He once sued the city of San Jose -- and won -- when it tried to impose a curfew on his private jet.
And while risky, Oracle's strategy could pay off if it succeeds in winning damages at trial, particularly in the Google case given the growing market for Android-powered devices.
"The real question is, does Oracle get a piece of Android, or not?" said Tyler Ochoa, a copyright professor at Santa Clara Law in Silicon Valley. "The money is so large we can see why they are willing to spend a lot of money fighting over it."
An Oracle spokeswoman declined to comment about how the multiple trials impact top management.
Oracle sued Google in August 2010 over seven patents for Java, which Oracle acquired when it bought Sun Microsystems. Early on, damages estimates ran as high as $6.1 billion. But Google has narrowed Oracle's claims so that only two patents remain, reducing the possible damages that could be awarded.
Oracle is seeking roughly $1 billion in copyright damages. On the two patents, it rejected Google's $2.8 million settlement offer, plus 0.5 percent of Android revenue on one patent until it expires this December and 0.015 percent on a second patent until it expires in April 2018.
In October, Google said its mobile business was generating revenue at an annual run rate of $2.5 billion, but that includes revenue from ads Google serves on Android devices as well as on Apple's iPhone.
The settlement talks reached an impasse, a magistrate judge who is a mediator in the case recently said, though a last-minute deal is always a possibility.
LEGAL FIREPOWER
For the Google and SAP cases, Oracle tapped David Boies, a famous litigator who represented Al Gore in the 2000 presidential recount. Oracle is also represented against Google by Michael Jacobs, a key figure in the smartphone patent wars as Apple's lead lawyer against Samsung.
Jacobs will deliver opening statements on Monday, said sources with knowledge of the situation.
Boies had sought to postpone the SAP trial so it wouldn't interfere with the Google case, but the judge refused.
Google, meanwhile, recruited well-known San Francisco litigator Robert Van Nest to deliver opening statements, people familiar with the matter said. Google had unsuccessfully tried to move the Oracle trial due to Van Nest's scheduling conflicts.
The Google trial before U.S. District Judge William Alsup is scheduled for three phases: copyright liability, patent claims, and damages.
Oracle's best chance of winning big damages stem from its copyright allegations, though Google argues that the structure of so-called "interface specifications" -- which define how programmers interact with software platforms -- are not protected by copyright.
Oracle is seeking an injunction not to shut Android down, Boies said, but to force Google to pay for a license and make Android compatible with the rest of Java. Google spokesman Jim Prosser said Oracle's claims are without merit.
Pretrial rulings on copyright have been largely favorable to Oracle, said Santa Clara Law's Ochoa. But the law is murky on how copyright protections apply to software, he said, giving Google a good chance to reverse any damaging verdict on appeal.
OTHER FRONTS
The Google case may be the biggest on Oracle's busy court docket, but it's not the only one. HP sued Oracle in a California state court for breach of contract after Oracle decided to discontinue support for the Itanium microprocessor.
Oracle countersued, and a hearing is scheduled for early May on requests from both sides to resolve the case in their favor before trial.
The Oracle/SAP case, in Oakland federal court, will rehash earlier allegations in the years-long dispute. Oracle has leveled similar accusations against Rimini Street in a Reno, Nevada federal court.
Oracle says Rimini provides cut rate support for some Oracle software by improperly copying its files. Rimini denies Oracle's claims, saying its business practices are entirely legal. No formal trial date has been set, though most trial preparations are scheduled to be completed by August.
Oracle won a $1.3 billion verdict against SAP in 2010 over accusations SAP unit TomorrowNow wrongfully downloaded Oracle files. U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton later slashed the verdict to $272 million, prompting Oracle to seek the retrial.
The first SAP/Oracle trial captivated the technology world, and featured testimony from Ellison and Oracle President Safra Catz. Both Ellison and Catz were also called to participate in settlement talks in the Google case.
While companies need to consider employee distraction when fighting any court case, the downsides for Oracle in the SAP case aren't steep, said Constance Bagley, an expert in litigation risk at Yale School of Management.
That's because SAP has admitted liability for the TomorrowNow downloads, so the retrial is about damages. Also, SAP has agreed to pay Oracle $120 million in attorneys fees.
Much less is settled in next week's Google trial, where Google is contesting both liability and damages. "If I were Ellison I would care a lot more about Oracle/Google than Oracle/SAP," Bagley said.
(Editing by Martha Graybow and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
Tech
Media
Related Quotes and News
Company
Price
Related News
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Back to top
Reuters.com
Business
Markets
World
Politics
Technology
Opinion
Money
Pictures
Videos
Site Index
Legal
Bankruptcy Law
California Legal
New York Legal
Securities Law
Support & Contact
Support
Corrections
Connect with Reuters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
RSS
Podcast
Newsletters
Mobile
About
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
AdChoices
Copyright
Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider
An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution
A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance
Our next generation legal research platform
Our global tax workstation
Thomsonreuters.com
About Thomson Reuters
Investor Relations
Careers
Contact Us
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.