Updates to this story
Database giant Oracle has launched a legal action against Google, alleging that the company infringes seven patents it owns related to Java.
Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google, was formerly a chief technical officer for Sun Microsystems. Sun Microsystems was bought by Oracle.
The move is interesting because when Sun Microsystems was a separate entity it promoted Java as an open source option.
Google never formally took out a licence from Sun Microsystems, while Java is widely used in a large number of applications created by other vendors. The law suit will cause other manufacturers to wonder whether Oracle will start a patent hunt against them.
The move prompted the Wall Street Journal to remind its readers that Larry Ellison, the CEO of Oracle, is a friend of Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple.
Apple considers Android to be a considerable threat to the iPhone and the Google OS continues to grow its market share as an OS for smartphones.
I've commented on those and other related questions on my blog:
http://fosspatents.blogspot.com/2010/08/oracle-sues-google-says-android.html
If Sun Microsystems released Java under open source, then Oracle has very little leg to stand on. But at least some lawyers will have their careers paid for, which is the only important thing.
Why is this not surprising? The ink is barely dry.
Remember: Sun, prior to folding, never released a *spec* for java7, just a jdk. At the time, many (humble self included) questioned whether this was kosher vis-a-vis Sun's OS protestations.
Have Larry and Oracle lost their minds?
Do they want to go the way of SCO?
Do they realise that pretty much every developer on the planet will hate them for this?
Idiots.
Worldwide sales show in the second quarter of 2010, the Google Android Smartphone passing the iPhone, which shows the company with the motto “Do no evil” is soon going to have some issues. The Wall Street Journal reports that Oracle Corp. has sued Google Inc. for patent and copyright infringement, claiming the Android OS violates Oracle's Java copyrights.Eric Schmidt, a previous Sun chief technology officer, whose Google’s founder, and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison are against one another within the suit. Oracle became the owner of the business that made Java, Sun, in January 2010. Today, Java is used in the Android Smartphone also as hundreds of other devices.