The Jury Voted 9-3 In Favor Of Google Against Oracle

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:48:41 +0000

Yesterday we reported that the jury voted in favor of Google. As part of a follow-up to that article, I just wanted to add that the jury was split 9-3 in favor of Google. Jury foreman Greg Thompson spent time answering questions for reporters while Oracle’s lawyers had listened quietly. It turns out that Oracle did not have a chance to win all along. Oracle had to convince the jury that some portions of their Java APIs can be classified as protected. Google uses these APIs as the foundation for the Android operating system. Judge William Alsup even prompted to consider Java APIs as being copyrighted.

“A lot of the jurors were focused on functionality versus creativity,” stated Thompson. He added that the majority was “putting greater weight on functionality.” However the jury was not too pleased with how Google relied heavily on a blog post that was written by former Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz. Schwartz’s blog post congratulated Google on Android’s launch. Thompson said “we felt like it wasn’t a good business practice to rely on a blog – Some of us had an underlying feeling that Google had done something that wasn’t right.”

The jury couldn’t see Java APIs as being a protected art. “The more tech savvy a person is, the more difficult it might be to convince them of something that would limit [technology]… and future expansion of the common good,” said Thompson.

Oracle Buys Sun Microsystems For $7.4 Billion; Now Owns MySQL and Java

Amit Chowdhry — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:33:09 +0000

After IBM recently backed out of making a deal with Sun, Oracle stepped up to the plate and bought out the Java-making company for an astonishing $7.4 billion. IBM’s offer was about $6.5 billion.

This will give Oracle the opportunity to become even more competitive against IT firms such as Hewlett-Packard, IBM, SAP, etc. Sun also holds the assets to two of the most impressive pieces of software Java and MySQL.

Sun Microsystems bought MySQL for $1 billion in January 2008.

“To me, this proposed acquisition totally redefines the industry,” wrote Sun President and CEO Jonathan I. Schwartz in an e-mail to Sun employees. “Let me assure you [Oracle is] single minded in [its] focus on the one asset that doesn’t appear in our financial statements: our people.”

Oracle will be paying $9.50 per share for common stock in Sun, but the agreement is subject to the Justice Department’s approval. Sun was founded by Vinod Khosla, Andy Bechtolsheim, and Scott McNealy. Oracle was co-founded by Lawrence (Larry) Ellison.

“Java is the single most important software we’ve ever acquired,” stated Ellison in a conference call. “With the acquisition of Sun, Oracle is now able to make all of the pieces of the technology stack fit together and work well.”

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The Jury Voted 9-3 In Favor Of Google Against Oracle

Oracle Buys Sun Microsystems For $7.4 Billion; Now Owns MySQL and Java