Critical.
Authoritative.
Strategic.
Subscribe to CIO Magazine »

Appeals court denies Google bid to keep email out of Oracle trial

The email by Google engineer Tim Lindholm could prove damaging to Google's defense, experts believe

Google has failed in its latest attempt to keep a potentially damaging email out of the lawsuit Oracle filed against it over alleged Java intellectual-property violations in the Android mobile OS.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Monday denied Google's petition over the email, which was written by Google engineer Tim Lindholm, according to information on the court's website. The text of the court's decision was not immediately available.

"What we've actually been asked to do by Larry and Sergey is to investigate what technical alternatives exist to Java for Android and Chrome," Lindholm wrote in the August 2010 email, shortly before Oracle filed suit, apparently referring to Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. "We've been over a bunch of these, and think they all suck. We conclude that we need to negotiate a license for Java under the terms we need."

Google went to the appeals court after a number of unsuccessful attempts to convince the main judge in the case that the email should be excluded, arguing in part that it was protected under attorney-client privilege.

In addition, the email does not constitute proof that Google was guilty of willfully infringing on Java, and instead "concerns an investigation made in anticipation of Oracle's lawsuit, shortly after Google learned of the patents that Oracle is asserting," Google said in a previous filing.

Still, the email's contents have been seen as a potentially potent weapon for Oracle's attorneys when the case goes to trial.

Oracle sued Google in August 2010, claiming that Android violated a number of patents and copyrights it holds on Java. Google has denied wrongdoing, saying that Android uses a "clean-room" Java implementation that doesn't infringe on Oracle's intellectual property.

Chris Kanaracus covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Chris's e-mail address is Chris_Kanaracus@idg.com

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

More about: Google, IDG, Oracle
References show all

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the CIO comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Coverage
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Tags: application development, Civil lawsuits, Google, intellectual property, Languages and standards, legal, mobile, Mobile OSes, open source, oracle, software
Latest Blog Posts
Whitepapers
  • Synergy gains sustainable competitive edge with HP printers, services and solutions
    Western Australian electricity retailer Synergy signed a four-year HP Smart Print Services agreement to establish an efficient and sustainable imaging and printing network which reduces waste and the organisation’s environmental footprint, without compromising on quality, reliability or security. Read more.
    Learn more »
  • Protecting Generation Web
    From data privacy to personal safety issues, cyber-bullying, inappropriate content and malware, schools are facing an increasingly difficult task when it comes to allowing young people to spread their online wings without compromising their safety and personal development. The reality that most schools are catering to the needs of mixed age groups and abilities, and it’s easy to understand why a simple stop and block approach won’t work. Learning environments are, by nature, flexible. It stands to reason that the IT resources used in them should be flexible too. Read on.
    Learn more »
  • Cost Effective Security and Compliance with Oracle Database 11g Release 2
    Information ranging from trade secrets to financial data to privacy related information has become the target of sophisticated attacks from both sides of the firewall. Built upon 30 years of security experience, the Oracle database provides defense-in-depth security controls that enable organizations to transparently protect data. By leveraging these controls, organizations can safeguard data, ensure regulatory compliance, and achieve business goals such as consolidation, globalization, right sourcing and cloud computing while still maintaining scalability, performance and availability. Read this whitepaper.
    Learn more »
All whitepapers
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis.
Recent comments