“The main attraction of Android for mobile phone manufacturers has been that it is free, but as phone makers like Samsung and HTC have found out, Android’s encumbrance is that it is constantly pursued in courts all over the globe by Apple and Microsoft,” Nigam Arora reports for Forbes. “Samsung has already agreed to pay millions to Microsoft for licensing patents related to Android.”
“Some investors may be surprised to know that the biggest blow landed on Android may not be coming from the fist of iPhone maker Apple, but instead from the samurai sword of Larry Ellison at Oracle,” Arora reports. “Jury selection begins today in San Francisco in a trial that pits Google against Oracle. Oracle is suing Google over intellectual property related to Java… Oracle’s arguments may include an email from a Google engineer concluding that Google should seek a license from Oracle to use Java. Barring a settlement, we will know the results soon as the trial is expected to last only eight weeks.”
Arora reports, “If Oracle wins, it may seek $5.00 to $7.00 in royalties per handset… Such royalty payments may cripple Android as it will take away its advantage of being free.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take:
I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this. – Steve Jobs
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