Just in: How Microsoft dodged the Yahoo bullet

Topic: Legal

Oracle, Google far apart on Android talks; Two Larrys to talk again

Summary: A federal magistrate judge has a simple plan: Force Larry Page and Larry Ellison to meet until they settle a lawsuit over Android.

Larry Dignan

By for Between the Lines |

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and Google CEO Larry Page spent a day in court to hammer out an Android settlement, but the two sides appear to be far apart. However, the two Larrys are ordered to be in court again in hopes that they can hammer out a settlement.

According to Bloomberg, Oracle and Google didn't get all that far in their negotiation talks. A federal magistrate judge ordered Oracle and Google to have another negotiation session on Wednesday.

How far apart are the sides? Oracle wants about $6 billion for Java infringements by Android. Google thinks a $100 million settlement is fair.

Both sides are dreaming.

What's unclear is whether Oracle and Google can bridge their Android gap. The court's plan is clear: Force the two Larrys to show up in court until they settle. Settlement talks can continue until Sept. 30. If Oracle and Google don't settle, there's a trial on tap for Oct. 30.

Related:

Topics: Legal, Banking, CXO, Enterprise Software, Google, Government, Oracle, IT Employment

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

Talkback

12 comments
Log in or register to join the discussion

  • RE: Oracle, Google far apart on Android talks; Two Larrys to talk again

    If Ellison could extract 6 bil, Sun comes free. That is sweet. Who knows, Google might also, get such a payday for Motorola.
    mm71
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Oracle, Google far apart on Android talks; Two Larrys to talk again

    Talks probably went something like this:

    Ellison: You stole our IP

    Page: Yeah our legal council advised us we needed a license but we were hoping Sun wouldn't notice

    Ellison: Pay us billions!!!!

    Page: Sun offered us a license in perpetuity for $100 million dollars. Get real

    And back to court we go
    the.nameless.drifter
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Oracle, Google far apart on Android talks; Two Larrys to talk again

      @the.nameless.drifter
      The problem is that the license that Google got from Sun did not grant Google permission to do the things things they have done with JAVA. And that is crux of the issue.
      bperrybap@...
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Oracle, Google far apart on Android talks; Two Larrys to talk again

        @bperrybap@...

        No the real problem is that Google DIDN'T take that license from Sun when they had the chance and now Oracle are turning the screw
        the.nameless.drifter
        Reply Vote

  • What Exactly Is Oracle Demanding Money For, Again?

    Can someone remind me, what "Intellectual Property" of Oracle has Google infringed? The only parts of Sun's Java code that Google might have used were open-sourced. Android doesn't use any part of the non-Free J2ME, and certainly not Sun's pricey (and inadequate) JVM. So Oracle is basically trying to pull a patent-trolling racket to squeeze some protection money out of Google, nothing more.
    ldo17
    Reply Vote

    • Patent trolls

      @ldo17
      I agree. This is likely to backfire on Oracle even if they get a settlement. How many would-be developers will now avoid oracle products over fear of being later cajoled to fork over profits because of some IP claims?
      mkpelletier@...
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Oracle, Google far apart on Android talks; Two Larrys to talk again

      @ldo17 err, what do you mean by "open source"? If you believe that GPL source code can be modified without regard to the GPL, you're living in a dream world. Believe it or not, there are conditions attached to GPL'ed code.

      Principally, in this case, Google didn't release their version under the GPL. That's really all they had to do, but chose not to. By disregarding the GPL, regular copyright applies...

      Or do you understand the GPL differently, perhaps?
      THUFIR.HAWAT
      Reply Vote

      • Re: What Exactly Is Oracle Demanding Money For, Again?

        @THUFIR.HAWAT What GPL'd code can you point to, that Google used but did not release under the GPL?
        ldo17
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Oracle, Google far apart on Android talks; Two Larrys to talk again

        @ldo17

        Some of the copied code in question was GPL'd but appeared in Android under the Apache license.
        the.nameless.drifter
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Oracle, Google far apart on Android talks; Two Larrys to talk again

        @the.nameless.drifter What GPL'd code can you point to, that Google used but did not release under the GPL?
        ldo17
        Reply Vote

    • RE: Oracle, Google far apart on Android talks; Two Larrys to talk again

      @ldo17 err, what do you mean by "open source"? If you believe that GPL source code can be modified without regard to the GPL, you're living in a dream world. Believe it or not, there are conditions attached to GPL'ed code.

      Principally, in this case, Google didn't release their version under the GPL. That's really all they had to do, but chose not to. By disregarding the GPL, regular copyright applies...

      Or do you understand the GPL differently, perhaps?
      THUFIR.HAWAT
      Reply Vote

  • qtdlecj 35 tjm

    bvivae,squrzmjs48, hvbor.
    chomeioy89-24379047480920053179692749555633
    Reply Vote
CNET Join | Log In | Privacy | Cookies Close