@DanaBlankenhorn
While you're right Dana, playing the patent card, especially in software circles, is very dangerous.
The JVM and Google's Dalvik are both virtual machines. But it is Wang who patented the concept of the virtual machine. While Sun paid off Wang, the Sun patent probably hinges on the Wang patent.
And this is the problem with software patents. Someone always has something on which your patent stands upon. All modern software is built on the concepts that went before. We stand on the shoulders of our ancestors.
What this means is that you could find yourself in the Windows-Mac-Star situation. For those who don't remember this, Apple sued MS for "look and feel" since it felt that MS windows has ripped off the Mac GUI. So Xerox sued Apple under the same terms since the Mac GUI was clearly based on Xerox's Star GUI.
The other problem that Oracle could run into is a variation of the VHS-Betamax problem. By suing for patent infringement on a software patent, they are claiming proprietary ownership of that material. That means, they could demand licenses. Sony did that with Betamax which is why it lost out to VHS. While Java is too mature for that, the case could cause a lot of cooling interests and migration away from Java.
All in all, Larry could find that even if he wins this battle, it puts him strategically worse in the war.
Discussion on:
Message 11 of 1
The best of ZDNet, delivered
ZDNet Newsletters
Get the best of ZDNet delivered straight to your inbox
