Oracle lawsuit could force Google to charge a per-copy license fee for Android

15 years ago

“One of the best-kept secrets in the patent dispute between Oracle and Google is what Oracle demands in terms of compensation for past damages and on which terms (monetary and other conditions) Oracle might allow Google to continue to distribute its Dalvik virtual machine as a result of a settlement or, alternatively, if Oracle prevailed in court and obtained an injunction,” Florian Mueller reports for FOSS Patents.

“For the first time in this entire lawsuit (which began almost ten months ago), a publicly accessible document provides, despite some blackened passages, a pretty good indication as to how demanding Oracle is,” Mueller reports. “I have analyzed the situation and I can tell you up-front: the word ‘demanding’ is an understatement. The position on damages for past infringement taken by an Oracle expert appears to be such that Oracle would want Google to pay damages for past infringement that would in the worst case far exceed any money Google has made with Android so far — and would likely expect Google to pay even more going forward.

Mueller reports, “The two companies are not just miles but light years apart, and it could very well be that a defeat in court would require Google to make fundamental changes to its Dalvik virtual machine — changes that would likely affect many if not all existing Dalvik-based (.DEX) applications. But even in purely financial terms, there’s serious doubt as to whether Google would be able to meet Oracle’s requirements while continuing to make Android available without charging a per-copy license fee.”

“Interestingly, Google itself admits that it could have done a license deal with Sun (apparently before it was acquired by Oracle) but rejected its terms,” Mueller reports. “That refusal could now prove one of the worst mistakes in Google’s 13-year history as a company.”

Much more in the full article here.