The saga does apparently continue. New developments have occurred regarding the dispute over the use of Java in Android. Google says the Oracle's damage estimate should be thrown out because Oracle set the cost of Google's alleged infringement at $6 billion. Google says that the damage estimate is actually zero and that ads on Android should not be computed as part of the damages.
According to Reuters, the judge was not happy at all. U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup said in the hearing, "You're both asking for the moon and you should be more reasonable." The judge threw out Google's request for ad revenue to be excluded and for the damages to be zero, saying that, "Zero is ridiculous." The judge also rejected the idea that Oracle suffered $6 billion in damages. A Google email between a Google engineer and Andy Rubin, head of the Android division, was shown. The email noted the review of alternatives for Java, but that the alternatives "suck." Google noted that the email was sent after Oracle sent the lawsuit notice last year, not in 2007, like Oracle claims.
Alsup also became frustrated when Oracle's attorney seemed reluctant to discuss financial details openly in court. He said that "This is a public proceeding. You lawyers and companies are not going to handcuff the court." He also added, "This is not a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oracle Corporation." For those who are interested, the case is Oracle America, Inc v. Google Inc, 10-3561, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California.
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