On August 12, 2010, Oracle Corporation made headlines by filing a civil copyright and patent infringement case against advertising giant Google.
The complaint alleges numerous patent and copyright violations covering different aspects of Sun Microsystems’s Java Platform which Google allegedly unlawfully copied to develop Android. Oracle acquired all interests, rights and title to the Java platform by acquiring Sun on January 27, 2010.
The Lawsuit is Primarily a Patent Case
Since Oracle Corporation’s merger with Sun, speculation that Oracle Corporation might sue over Android centered on unresolved patent negotiations between Google and Sun, as far back as 2007, for special patent licensing exceptions that would permit Google to customize development of the Java ME platform. Miguel de Icaza, creator of GNOME and Mono, (August 13, 2010) states:
“ There is very little public information on the Google/Sun split over Java ME and the creation of Dalvik. The rumors on the grapevine were that Google and Sun could not reach an agreement over the Java Micro Edition licensing. Sun wanted to sit in the middle between Google and the handset OEMs, while Google wanted to create a free-for-all operating system…When it became clear that they would not be able to reach an agreement, Google started a project to replace Java Micro Edition...”
Oracle is asserting Google unlawfully copied protected Java platform elements to create its own Android platform. The copyright claims are, at first glance, ancillary to the primary complaint of patent infringement. The patent claims are related to the assertion Google copied and modified a subset of Apache Harmony library class files to create its own proprietary class library system, and Java Virtual Machine for Android-based phones. At the heart of the case is Dalvik Virtual Machine which is the essential component that gives Android its unique characteristics.
Dalvik is the Secret Ingredient that Makes Android so Versatile and Popular
According to Software Engineer David Ehringer (March 2010), in “The Dalvik Virtual Machine Architecture,” Dalvik is not just a Java Virtual Machine, but a complete modular-based distributed processing architecture: Dalvik does not perform stack-based execution, but is, instead, a core component of run-time functioning that resides next to the run-time library files in the Android operating system.
Dalvik is register-based and communicates via an integrated process environment. Dalvik generates a single instance of itself for each running application, and saves memory by sharing code between multiple VM instances where different applications access a common set of library resources.
Dot Com Infoway, who published “Android by 2012, A Study on present and future of Google’s Android,” credits Dalvik with increasing Android’s value proposition by its low power consumption, extensive library resources, and, a non-fragmentary API that enhances rather than inhibits run-time application performance. Without Dalvik’s distributed processing power, the broad range of multi-application support that defines Android’s platform might not be possible.
Google Faces Several Theories of Patent infringement
U.S. Patent 6910205 "Interpreting Functions Utilizing a Hybrid of Virtual and Native Machine Instructions” describes a narrowly-defined methodology for the JVM two-step process. Java Source code is compiled by a byte code compiler that outputs a Java class file as a string of byte codes, each byte code carries a set of virtual machine instructions to be read by a secondary interpreter. Patent 6910205 covers the process invented to speed up the interpreter.
According to David Ehringer, another aspect of Dalvik that makes it unique from the standard Java Virtual Machine is the .dex class file which is an advanced execution file that aggregates the output of multiple class files with an indexed structure that references the common methods and constant values that are shared across classes. Nevertheless the inventors intended the scope of the patent to extend to not only virtual machine compiler systems that translate languages other than Java, but those that don’t output standard java byte code as in the case of Dalvik.
In addition to the patent design issue, there is the separate patent license issue. The Java ME patent license, and The Java™ Language Specification, both prohibit supersetting or subsetting essential platform elements such as those contained in Java packages, classes, and interfaces.
Dalvik libraries are based upon a subset of Harmony libraries and therefore may violate subsetting restrictions. Andy Updegrove (August 13, 2010) who writes “The Standards Blog” for ConsortiumInfo.org, expresses the current opinion that Google will be able to rewrite certain elements of Android to avoid the copyright claims, but Google's clean room version may still subject them to patent liability.
Final Judgment may be Affected by the Length of the Case.
A quick settlement is not realistic. Patent 6910205 is just one of seven patents named in the complaint, in addition are the copyright claims. The process of breaking down the complicated and lengthy legal arguments should prove to be quite arduous and time-consuming.
John Martellaro posted an article at the Mac Observer (August 24th 2010) titled “Exploring Oracle’s Lawsuit Against Google,” which contains an expert legal opinion from an attorney who regularly chats with Mr. Martellaro:
“What would likely happen if Oracle wins on substantially all of its claims of infringement, both copyright and patent? I think that the most likely outcome is a negotiated settlement where Google takes a license for Java ME, pays damages, and Dalvik is either destroyed or ownership of it is transferred to Oracle…The real bone of contention in the settlement negotiations would be over the fate of Dalvik.”
Other analysts such as leosun (August 25, 2010) who writes for Investorguide.com have already drawn a parallel to the 1997 suit by Sun against Microsoft who modified Java’s licensed version to optimize Internet Explorer’s Web browsing performance. That case was settled in 2001 as a consolidated Sherman antitrust action in which Sun’s legal claims were used as evidence Microsoft broke the law to gain unfair competitive marketing advantage for its operating system and Web browser sales.
Given the popularity of Android, and the fact every major market analyst on record has predicted the surge in Android sales to continue, the longer it takes to settle the case, the more Android will penetrate the market, and the more interested the Federal government may become in getting involved.
Trademark Attribution
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Sources:
- Bak, Lars, Griesmer, Robert (September 2001) United States Patent 6910205. Interpreting functions utilizing a hybrid of virtual and native machine instructions. USPO. freepatentsonline.com
- Dot Com Infoway (2010). Android by 2012: A study on present and future of Google’s Android. [Position Paper]. dotcominfoway.com
- Ehringer, David (March 2010).The Dalvik Virtual Machine Architecture. davidehringer.com
- Gosling James, Joy Bill, Steele Guy (1996). The Java Language Specification. Addison Wesley. Copyright 1996 Sun Microsystems. java.sun.com
- John Martellaro (August 24th, 2010). Exploring Oracle’s Lawsuit Against Google."macobserver.com
- Kincaid, Jason (Aug 13, 2010) Google Calls Oracle Patent Suit Baseless and an Attack On The Open-Source Java Community. techcrunch.com/
- leosun (August 25th, 2010). Oracle Lashes Out at Google Over Android (ORCL). Investorguide.com
- Sun Microsystems (August 19, 2006) Java ME Patent License, LIMITED LICENSE GRANTS. 2. License for the Distribution of Compliant Implementations. [ LFI#151443] Sun Microsystems. download.oracle.com
- (August 12, 2010) UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA. Oracle America, Inc v. Google, Inc. COMPLAINT FOR PATENT AND COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT.[Case no 1418106] www.scribd.com
- Updegrove Andy (August 13 2010). Oracle Sues Google Over Android: What's Up with That? The Standards Blog. www.consortiuminfo.org
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