Oracle, Google brace for trial on Android

San Francisco:  Oracle and Google are digging in their heels as they prepare for an upcoming trial.

They haven't agreed on much since Oracle filed its lawsuit against Google 19 months ago, and there appears to be little chance for a settlement before the trial is scheduled to begin on April 16.

The dispute hinges on Oracle's allegations that Google's Android software for mobile devices infringes on copyrights and patents that Oracle acquired when it bought Sun Microsystems Inc. for $7.3 billion (Dh26.81 billion) in 2010. The technology in question is Java.

Worth of damages

Oracle Corp., a business software maker with $36 billion in annual revenue, is seeking hundreds of millions in damages.

Google Inc., which relies on its dominance of Internet search and advertising for most of its $38 billion in annual revenue, believes it won't have to pay more than a few million dollars.

A joint statement filed last week provided the latest reminder of the friction. In the papers, Google argued that the trial could be shortened from its currently scheduled duration of eight weeks and sought to appear before US District Judge William Alsup instead of a jury. Oracle doesn't believe the trial schedule should be revised nor is it willing to waive its right to a jury trial.

Google estimates it will have to pay about $2.8 million if it's determined that Android infringes on two Java patents that are being reviewed in the case. The company told Alsup that it's also prepared to pay 0.5 per cent of Android's future revenue for one Java patent expiring at the end of this year and 0.015 per cent of Android's future revenue for the other patent, which expires in April 2018.