Judge tells Oracle, Google to narrow Android patent claims, prior art references
A U.S. District Judge told Oracle to narrow its patent claims over Android to a "triable number." Separately, Oracle subpoenaed Apache.
In an order May 3, U.S. District Judge William Alsup wrote:
Currently, there are 132 claims from seven patents asserted in this action, and there are hundreds of prior art references in play for invalidity defenses. This is too much.
Alsup, who is trying to outline a schedule for the trial currently slated for October, said that there should be only three claims and eight prior art references placed before the jury. He added:
The following schedule will ensure that only a triable number of these items — three claims and eight prior art references — are placed before the jury in October, all others to be forsaken...
Oracle will surrender all of its present infringement claims against Google based on the 129 asserted claims that will not be tried. Oracle may not renew those infringement claims in a subsequent action except as to new products.
The judge also said that the first reductions from both sides should be finished by the end of May.
A second claim cut---to 20 asserted claims and 60 prior art references---should be complete by the end of August. The final cuts will be completed following a summary judgment order. The summary judgment hearing will fall Oct. 13. The trial is set to start on Oct. 31, but Alsup noted that a postponement could make sense after reexaminations.
Separately, Oracle's subpoena of Apache should be interesting. Apache has until May 13 to produce materials for the trial.
Related: Oracle vs. Google over Java: Android lawsuits may begin to pile up