Oracle has filed suit against Google over its use of Java technology in the Android operating system.
According to a copy of the complaint, Oracle claims Google’s Android technology violates seven of the Java patents Oracle acquired in its purchase of Sun Microsystems.
“In developing Android, Google knowingly, directly and repeatedly infringed Oracle’s Java-related intellectual property. This lawsuit seeks appropriate remedies for their infringement,” an Oracle spokeswoman said in a statement.
Oracle alleges Android, its Dalvik virtual machine and software development kit violate U.S. Patents Numbers 6,125,447; 6,192,476; 5,966,702; 7,426,720; RE38,104; 6,910,205; and 6,061,520.
Oracle claims Google has been aware of Sun’s patent portfolio, including the patents cited in the lawsuit, since the middle of the decade, when Google hired former Java engineers from Sun.
The complaint, filed with the U.S. District Court of Northern California, seeks unspecified damages and an order permanently enjoining Google from continuing to violate its patents.
In a statement, Google defended itself and the open-source community. “We are disappointed Oracle has chosen to attack both Google and the open-source Java community with this baseless lawsuit. The open-source Java community goes beyond any one corporation and works every day to make the web a better place. We will strongly defend open-source standards and will continue to work with the industry to develop the Android platform,” Google said.
