Oracle seeks billions in lawsuit against Google

Jun 17, 2011 |

Reuters

San Francisco

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Oracle Corp is seeking damages ‘in the billions of dollars’ from Google Inc in a patent lawsuit over the smartphone market, according to a court filing.

The disclosure on Thursday was the first time either side publicly mentioned the cumulative scale of Oracle's damages claims.

Oracle sued Google last year, claiming the Web search company's Android mobile operating technology infringes Oracle's Java patents. Oracle bought the Java programming language through its acquisition of Sun Microsystems in January 2010.

Some see the lawsuit as a sign of a growing business rivalry between the two companies.

The case is also part of a wider web of litigation among phone makers and software firms over who owns the patents used in smartphones and tablets, as rivals aggressively rush into a market in which Apple jump-started with iPhone and iPad.

Barring any settlements, a trial between Oracle and Google is expected to begin by November.

Google has called an Oracle damages report ‘unreliable and results-oriented,’ and asked a U.S. judge in San Francisco to ignore it, court documents show. In disputing Oracle's methodology, Google also asked the court to keep private some damages information Google disclosed in a court filing.

Oracle then accused Google of trying to conceal the fact Oracle's damages claims in the case are in the billions, according to a document filed on Thursday. Oracle said it did not object to having the information about its damages become public.

Due to Oracle's stance, U.S. District Judge William Alsup ordered Google on Thursday to make public the damages information by Friday.

A Google representative declined to comment.

The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, is Oracle America, Inc v. Google Inc, 10-3561.

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