10/8/2011
The chief executive officers of Oracle Corp and Google Inc are meeting in court today to resolve the issue that may become the biggest threat to Google’s Android mobile software, which is now running on over 150 million devices.
Larry Page of Google and Larry Ellison of Oracle were ordered by a judge to appear before a federal court in San Jose, California after fighting over patents for over a year now. Google is being accused by Oracle of infringing upon the patents associated to its Java software. A settlement means that the tech giants could avoid the potential risk of a jury deciding whether Google owed Oracle royalties.
Scott Daniels, an attorney with Westerman Hattori Daniels and Adrian LLP based in Washington, said, “It’s like Gorbachev and Reagan. The greatest chance of settling the case, of ending the Cold War, to use the analogy, is to have the two highest figures there.”
The lawsuit, which was filed by Oracle in August of 2010, may pose a much bigger threat to Google’s software compared to challenges from Apple Inc, which has already won several patent decisions against the device makers of Android.
In settlement discussions, Page’s goal is to avoid having to pay licensing fees to Oracle which analysts at Citigroup Inc says could be as high as $15 for every device. This sum could slow down the adoption of the software which is being given away by Google.
As he arrived at the steps of the courthouse today, Page said, “We are looking forward to a productive day.”
