Oracle asks Motorola to testify in suit over Java in Android
updated 05:40 pm EDT, Fri August 5, 2011
Oracle may get Motorola to testify in Google case
Oracle may get Motorola to join Larry Page in testifying as part of its lawsuit against Google over Java patent use in Android. The database firm late this week motioned a Chicago court for rights to depose Motorola for evidence. The testimony would gauge whether the code Motorola uses the allegedly infringing patents in the source code it gets from Google as well as whether Motorola was using the Android dx tool.
It was important to inquire about the code on every device, Oracle said. Devices ranging from the very first Motorola Android phone, the Cliq, through to the Atrix 4G and Xoom were all likely to be under scrutiny.
A motion was necessary as Motorola had declined and hadn't been persuaded in negotiations. Evidence supplied by Motorola in June also wasn't enough to properly identify the changes. Motorola's reasons for objecting weren't uncovered, but analysts have claimed Oracle might want to charge Google as much as $15 per device in royalties and might be aiming for the same with Motorola.
The testimony and the license requests if true could be dangerous for Google. While the company itself has faced few royalty demands, its phone and tablet partners are facing a dual-pronged attack from Apple and Microsoft that could add to the cost of selling Android. Opponents to Google have accused it of price dumping by giving away Android for free, but the licensing terms could make Android noticeably more expensive relative to iPhone and Windows Phone hardware. [via Florian Mueller]
Joined: Dec 1969
nonsense
Android ended up using Java - it was never a requirement to use Java - as both Microsoft and Apple have proven.
It isn't some necessary cost of having a phone OS - and Google can drop Java. And surely would have never picked Java at such an absurd price point. Sun did license java - for about $1 a phone, not $15.