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Oracle sues Google over use of Java in Android

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Re: Oracle sues Google over use of Java in Android

#2

Post by tptacek »

"Java is the single most important software we've ever acquired," Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison said during a conference call [...]

... "and if you don't do everything I say, I'll blow up the moon! Ah-hahahahah!"

How do you not love this guy? Somebody get him a black cape.

Re: Oracle sues Google over use of Java in Android

#4

Post by gahahaha »

tptacek wrote: post #2

"Java is the single most important software we've ever acquired," Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison said during a conference call [...] ... "and if you don't do everything I say, I'll blow up the moon! Ah-hahahahah!" How do you not love this guy? Somebody get him a black cape.

He is just trying to save /more/ children in Africa. http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB10001424052748704...

Larry Ellison is a saint! ... and an asshole.

Re: Oracle sues Google over use of Java in Android

#6

Post by seldo »

Excuse the really really obvious question, but how can you sue somebody for intellectual property infringement on open-source software? Didn't you already give anybody the license to do what they wanted with it? If they've violated the license terms in some way, isn't that different from IP infringement?

Re: Oracle sues Google over use of Java in Android

#7

Post by cscotta »

The biggest issue I see with Oracle's lawsuit is not with Android itself, but the future of Java as an open platform.

The claims are pretty serious, and Oracle is going straight for the jugular. It'll be interesting to see how it shakes out, but I've got to hope that Google will come out of this in good shape for the sake of Java. It's unfortunate that Oracle is interpreting Google's implementation of Dalvik and a Java-based system as a direct infringement upon their patents.

Android aside, it raises some fairly serious questions around Java's future development as a platform vis a vis the uncertainty recently resolved between Microsoft and the Mono project. While Microsoft extended their "Community Promise" to Mono implementors and users, Oracle seems to be taking the opposite approach to companies developing alternate JVMs and Java-based devices. It'll be interesting to see Oracle's stance toward other alternate JVMs such as IBM's.

If you're curious, the original complaint is here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/35811761/Oracle-s-complaint-agains...

The patents upon which Oracle claims infringement are:

- Protection domains to provide security in a computer system (6,125,447)

- Controlling Access to a Resource (6,192,476)

- Method and apparatus for pre-processing and packaging class files (5,966,702)

- System and method for dynamic preloading of classes through memory space cloning of a master runtime system process (7,426,720)

- Interpreting functions utilizing a hybrid of virtual and native machine instructions (6,910,205)

- Method and system for performing static initialization (6,061,520)

Re: Oracle sues Google over use of Java in Android

#8

Post by squidsoup »

seldo wrote: post #6

Excuse the really really obvious question, but how can you sue somebody for intellectual property infringement on open-source software? Didn't you already give anybody the license to do what they wanted with it? If they've violated the license terms in some way, isn't that different from IP infringement?

I'm struggling to understand this as well - I would have thought OSS licensing and software patents would be incompatible.
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