Phase 2: Google & Oracle Court Case Heats Up

The legal tiff between Google and Oracle is progressing to phase two and will see Google’s defence revolve around three key points.

Speaking to ZDNet, Robert Van Nest of Keker and Van Nest LLP explained Google’s case in the second litigation phase will rely on three principles:

1. Fundamental design choices were made by Google to make Android different
2. Google was unaware of Suns patents when developing Android
3. Android does not use Sun technology

According to Vast Nest, two of the questioned patents are “very specific, narrow patents” that Google’s design engineers had no knowledge of when developing Android.

He claims “Oracle didn’t even complain about” Google’s supposed patent violation until July of 2012, and by then the Dalvik (the process virtual machine in Android) and Java technologies had been on the market for two years.

In phase 2, Google will focus on highlighting the “many, many differences” between the Java virtual machine and the Dalvik virtual machine.

Addressing the jury, Van Nest explained code compilers and how Android differs, such as using Dalvik executable code instead of Java bytecode.

He also noted that Oracle has the burden of proving Google infringed all aspects of their patents. To help the jury relate, he compared a football to a soccer ball, highlighting that – although they have many traits in common – their different shapes makes them capable of very different experiences.

Van Nest expects Phase 2 litigation to be shorter with all of the evidence examined within the week, with testimonies being provided by engineers and developers, and not ‘celebrities.’