Why Oracle was right to sue Google

[Renew Deal]

The tech industry loves a good vendor slugfest, and the upcoming legal battle between Google and Oracle has all the makings of a truly spectacular one.

At issue is Dalvik, the unique, Java-based runtime at the heart of Google's Android smartphone OS. Oracle, which gained stewardship of the Java platform when it bought Sun Microsystems in 2009, claims Dalvik knowingly, willfully, and deliberately infringes on Java intellectual property. According to a complaint filed with the U.S. District Court in San Francisco last week, Oracle is seeking a halt to any further Android development, destruction of all infringing Android software, and for Google to pay damages, both actual and statutory.

Bloggers, pundits, and developers wasted no time decrying the suit. Farata Systems' Anatole Tartakovsky wrote, "Oracle managers are clearly out of their minds." PC World's Tony Bradley described Oracle as a patent troll, while others made unflattering comparisons to the SCO Group. InfoWorld's own editor in chief, Eric Knorr, compared Oracle to Darth Vader and to Batman's nemesis the Joker in the same column.

Such knee-jerk reactions are misguided. Google is no Luke Skywalker, and its handling of Java has been questionable at best. To suggest that Oracle is being heavy-handed ignores the larger truth, which is that in recent years Sun's governance of Java has been meek and ineffective. In the absence of strong leadership, the Java community has been saddled with a slow and burdensome development process that has left the future of the platform in serious doubt. The complaint against Google is proof that Oracle aims to change all that -- and it could be just what the Java community needed.
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http://infoworld.com/d/developer-world/why-oracle-was-right-sue-google-392-1

I don't agree that this is about resurrecting Java. That's not how Oracle operates. I think it's patent trolling.

[Clovis Sangrail]

1. oh oracle ... how I loathe thee - let us count the ways

should we start with the latest updates to VirtualBox (now Oracle Virtualbox) that broke usb again?
or maybe the rumours that ORE (formerly SGE) is to become pay for play only ...

I met Ellison once years ago
It appears that he's still the same loathsome asshat

[Confusious]

2. Resurrecting java? Was it ever alive? Nt

[metapunditedgy]

3. I doubt Java is the "heart" of the phone. n/t

[Clovis Sangrail]

4. no java no worky worky ... so I think "heart" is fair /nt

[nebenaube]

5. probably not

but if Google built their own 'Java' interpreter then yes, they are infringing on 'Java'. I just started coding for the android system it's popular and I think it may well be the new 'microsoft' in terms of the platform they have provided. But I'm also concerned that this 'personal tracking device' system is potentially malevolent and would feel better if it was actually the original java interpreter.