Oracle claims billions in damages from Google's use of Java in Android, determined to get them

The lawsuit action between Oracle and Google started last August with Oracle's claims of Google infringing a bunch of Java patents in its Android code, but did you know how big this whole process is? In the latest development of the saga, Oracle states that Google tried to hide “references to the fact that Oracle damages claims in this case are in the billions of dollars.” But does Oracle really stand a chance in getting those billions?

Skipping back to the past some of you might remember that Oracle already won a huge $1.3 billion lawsuit against SAP, so the company definitely has the experience. As Google is trying to keep all details private, Oracle shows confidence:

"Oracle's damage claims are based on accepted methodology and a wealth of concrete evidence," Oracle reportedly said in a filing to a US district court. "They should not be hidden from public view."

So it also has the attitude. And when it comes to the motives, they seem all the more justified after earlier in the year, patent professional Florian Muller confirmed that he has found "the same pattern of direct copying" in Google's Java code. Reportedly, it's the Dalvik virtual machine where Google has repetitively infringed Oracle's patterns.

Google calls the damages inaccurate and inflated, while the whole report has been dubbed "unreliable and results-oriented." "Oracle's 'methodology' for calculating damages is based on fundamental legal errors and improperly inflates their estimates," Google added in a statement for Bloomberg. But it faces a tough battle as Oracle holds thousands of Java-related patterns. Actually, its pattern portfolio increased by 7,000 after the company acquired Sun. In addition, Oracle has a strong legal team including law firms which have won the company $1.3 billions in the SAP lawsuit. How will this end up? Only future will tell, but in the meantime feel free to chime in with your suggestions below.

source: ZDNet and V3