“Following assertions that the files were just for testing and in some cases had already been deleted, Engadget’s Nilay Patel argued that the technical issues were irrelevant and the files’ very existence could make Google liable,” Electronista reports. “Even if removed from the current code tree, inserted automatically or absent from current phones, the attempts to change the licenses may have violated Oracle’s copyrights. ‘Somewhere along the line, Google took Oracle’s code, replaced the GPL [licensing] language with the incompatible Apache Open Source License, and distributed the code under that license publicly,’ Patel said. ‘That’s all it takes — if Google violated the GPL by changing the license, it also infringed Oracle’s underlying copyright.'”
Electronista reports, “Even outside of the contested code, Oracle has already pointed to more direct examples that it contended were direct copies of the Java technology it owns.”
More info and links in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: How about Google goes back to developing their own intellectual property, focusing on the things they’re good at, and stops following Apple around like a little lost puppy dog? While we’ll never be able to respect Google the way we once did, such changes would be a very welcome. A Microsoft by any other name would smell as sour.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “sparkplug” for the heads up.]
What happens to Android after Google is found in violation of Oracle’s copyright infringement and as a result of Verizon now offering a real iPhone will be interesting. Good luck.
Scratch ‘ violation’ or ‘infringement’ from the above and you’re still left with the obvious…
Breeze
Theft is theft, being a car or code.
Silverhawk:
Without doubt, the question is (still pre coffee) will Android get an injunction and have to be re written or will Google play games to try and keep it going?
I see a lot of trouble for Google. The make most of their money on search, but are blowing a lot of money an a lot of other products that loose money. The patent fights are going to take some of their steam.
Google can not handle it’s growth, reshuffles CEO, patent lawsuits will drain a few billion $ and keeps doing evil as copycats!!!!! Get them Oracle
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All good news 4 AAPL shares :-\ BUY Buy bye!!!!
2011 = $422
2015 = $828!
I’d hate to be the person in charge of product development at the companies that are attempting to develop tablets based on the Androids OS. They’re betting big $$$ that they get the Android OS for ‘free’, when in reality they’re on very thin ice at best and could be subjecting their company to some very serious financial and PR liabilities and damages at worst.
Don’t take these lawsuits against the Android OS lightly, iPad wannabes. Instead of producing an “iPad killer”, you could instead be making your own petard with you as the victim.
Just goes to show android supported copy and paste at a fundamental level from the get go.
Wonder if someone from Apple is whispering in Larry’s ear?
Google need to search for Patten Infringement… Maybe try Bing…
What should concern us all is the culture of theft that seems to run to the core of Google. They steal code, they drive around in vans and steal login and password info, they accumulate personal information on each of us as we use their search engine in order to facilitate manipulating us with focused advertising. Who knows what else Google is doing or will do with the personal information and profiles they are building on each of us? They may well have all the info they need to facilitate the theft of our digital identities. They have a business based on the accumulation of detailed info on our interests, fears, wants, desires, shopping habits, political leanings, health, wealth, age, sex, sexual preference, relationships, and much more. It concerns me to have a company such as Google, with an attitude that theft is ok, and an attitude that information and intellectual property should be open and free collecting all this personal information.
Facebook collects personal information even more directly and openly, getting people to voluntarily provide huge amounts of very personal information but has not, yet, used that info in the ways Google is to generate billions of dollars by selling companies the personal information they use to focus the information and the advertising at each of us to manipulate the decisions and purchases we each make every day.
If you don’t believe this is happening, then why do you think Google and Facebook are pulling in billions of dollars and are worth hundreds of billions yet provide you with their services for “free”?
What is truly ironic is hat Google replaced the GPL license with a more commercial friendly Apache license. Google is redefining the term “open” in a way that even Microsft never dreamed of.
You know, this all points to an immense lack of programmer talent at Google. Apple incorporates opensource code, too, but if there’s something they can’t incorporate because of its license, then they’ll just whip up their own version of it from scratch.
Google, on the otherhand, will violate the license and incorporate the code anyway. That really instills a sense of how well their software is built, given that the programmers will result to plagairization rather than write their own code.
I wonder how much of Android, Chrome, etc. is copy and pasted.
Hum! Google’s “Open Source” smells after Bill Gates’ past robbery… Wonder what will happen if Android’s use gets forbidden? All those developers wan’t gain anything out their real Open Source implication!
As of this discovery, moto, samsung, lg, htc and all are knowingly trafficking devices with stolen code.
It is not easy to write an OS – that’s why none of the handset makers have done it previously.
It should be pointed out that apple’s iOS and Mac OSX are written on top of UNIX, but Apple bothered to get the proper licenses and was totally on the up and up.
This is another example of Google cutting corners and bringing a product to market that is obviously not ready.
Google should take the high road and admit to its wrong doing in court then, perhaps, I will respect Google a bit more. In the meantime, I am going to use Apple’s MobileMe more often and moving away from Google.
I suspect Google is just a front for Russia’s SVR to steal all your information…
Google – a disaster under Eric Schmidt.. let’s hope Larry Page goes back to being mentored by Steve Jobs…
If Larry Page can marginalize Schmidt enough, reverse the collision course with Apple and regain Job’s trust, an honest collaboration would benefit and help Google.
I’m guessing Oracle is not much interested in getting licensing money from Google. I’m guessing Larry would rather see Android get ravaged. He doesn’t like all the Google evil behavior, and he loves his brilliant pal Steve.
@Nightstar
If u search patent infringement on bing it comes up with “did u mean google android?”
@ET In “Dark Knight 2” Lex Luthor ruled because he had a database. It was one he kept on nearly every human being there is. The one that let him blackmail, terrorize, bribe or murder everybody who opposed his little hostile takeover of the planet. That’s a comic book, but not too much of a stretch as a possible future scenario.
The thing I hate about Android is that it’s giving away for free to any device manufacturer. It’s very design is to make a beautiful new category of devices as plain vanilla commodity crap. I really appreciate the uniqueness and style which Apple always brings! Fragmentation sucks!!!
For those curious as to what’s going to happen if Android is found to be infringing, I think I know. Remember, the US legal system moves like molasses. By the time it becomes clear that the jig is up for Android, it will be a year or more before a final verdict. You will see manufacturers move away from Android (sadly, probably towards Microsoft’s OS) long before they’re forced to by lawsuits. By the time Android is finally stomped by the courts, no one will be using it anymore.
——RM
It’s fascinating that Oracle is suing Google over Android, not Apple. Apple seems to be going after competing manufacturers who make Android-based phones, not Google.
It will be interesting to see when/if the cell phone manufacturers sue Google for their current and future losses from designing/manufacturing/selling devices that use stolen code and illegally licensed software.
Those losses could be huge given the time they have lost and the competitive lead Apple has gained as a result. Those losses could be, and probably are, in the tens of billions.