decoration decoration
Stories

GROKLAW
When you want to know more
but don't know where to look.
decoration
For layout only
Home
Archives
Site Map
Search
About Groklaw
Awards
Legal Research
Timelines
ArchiveExplorer
Autozone
Bilski
Cases
Cast: Lawyers
Comes v. MS
Contracts, etc.
Courts
DRM
Gordon v MS
GPL
Grokdoc
HTML How To
IPI v RH
IV v. Google
Legal Docs
Lodsys
MS Litigations
MSvB&N
News Picks
Novell v. MS
Novell-MS Deal
ODF/OOXML
OOXML Appeals
OraclevGoogle
Patents
ProjectMonterey
Psystar
Quote Database
Red Hat v SCO
Salus Book
SCEA v Hotz
SCO Appeals
SCO Bankruptcy
SCO Financials
SCO Overview
SCO v IBM
SCO v Novell
SCO:Soup2Nuts
Sean Daly
Switch to Linux
Transcripts
Unix Books
Your contributions keep Groklaw going.
To donate to Groklaw 2.0:

Groklaw Gear

Click here to send an email to the editor of this weblog.


Contact PJ

Click here to email PJ. You won't find me on Facebook Donate Paypal


User Functions

Username:

Password:

Don't have an account yet? Sign up as a New User

No Legal Advice

The information on Groklaw is not intended to constitute legal advice. While Mark is a lawyer and he has asked other lawyers and law students to contribute articles, all of these articles are offered to help educate, not to provide specific legal advice. They are not your lawyers.

Here's Groklaw's comments policy.


What's New

STORIES
4 stories in last 48 hours

COMMENTS last 48 hrs

Oracle v. Google - Parties ... [+66]

Day 22, Oracle v. Google - ... [+250]

From the Courtroom, Day 19,...

Oracle v. Google - Further ... [+48]

From the Courtroom, Day 21,... [+20]

A Sun Position Paper on Sof... [+7]



Sponsors

Hosting:
hosted by ibiblio

On servers donated to ibiblio by AMD.

Webmaster
Headlines:
Oracle v. Google - Parties Asked to Brief Sony v. Connectix
Wednesday, May 23 2012 @ 09:55 AM EDT

The latest reply briefs on the outstanding copyright issues are due today, and Judge Alsup has made a last minute addition to what he wants the parties to address. (1188 [PDF; Text]) He has now thrown in Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. v. Connectix Corp. Specifically, he wants to hear from the parties what it was that Connectix duplicated and whether it included application binary interfaces and/or names that would have been in the Playstation BIOS source code.

read more (138 words) 66 comments  View Printable Version
Most Recent Post: 05/23 11:28AM by Anonymous

Day 22, Oracle v. Google - Another Day of Jury Deliberations ~pj - Updated 3Xs
Tuesday, May 22 2012 @ 12:21 PM EDT

What would you expect to happen next in the Oracle v. Google patent litigation phase? How about another note from the jury this morning? Ginny LaRoe:
Jury Note: For the purpose of patent 104, do claims cover a symbolic resolution anywhere in the data fields?
Can you guess the lawyers' response? You are right! They don't agree. Oracle yes; Google no. And so another typical day in the jury deliberations at the OraGoogle trial commences.

read more (1329 words) 250 comments  View Printable Version
Most Recent Post: 05/23 11:27AM by Anonymous

Oracle v. Google - Further Questions from the Bench on Interoperability
Monday, May 21 2012 @ 07:20 PM EDT

The Court has asked the parties to provide further briefing on the subject of interoperability. (1181 [PDF; Text]) It is unclear whether this line of questioning indicates some likelihood that the Court considers APIs protectable by copyright, but there is certainly that possibility.

In the meantime, the questions being asked by the jury in the patent phase give every indication that the jury is hung on the issue of patent infringement. Numerous times over the last two court days the jury has asked to have the instructions read to them again or to have certain phrases interpreted.


read more (371 words) 214 comments  View Printable Version
Most Recent Post: 05/23 06:36AM by Ian Al

From the Courtroom, Day 21, Oracle v. Google Trial, Jury Deliberations ~pj - Updated 5Xs
Monday, May 21 2012 @ 12:48 PM EDT

You'll be happy to know that mirror_slap is in the courtroom for Groklaw today, and so we'll be getting all the details. Meanwhile, according to Rachel King of CNET the jury has asked for a readback of the answer from the judge to an earlier question. I hope it isn't the one I thought he was unclear on myself, and I know the answer, but he now has told the jury that if they are still not clear, they can ask another question. I think they drew the impression that they can't consider Dr. Terence Parr's testimony as evidence that Google doesn't infringe Oracle's patent, and of course that is precisely what his evidence was for. If the jury misunderstands and thinks it can only consider Dr. Mitchell's testimony for Oracle as being somehow true, which some of the tweeting journalists thought had been told to them, they are going to have been seriously misled.

And we have our first report from the courtroom. And now I see that the question was actually two questions, one possibly the one that worries me or the one from Friday about a unanimous verdict, and the other is about definitions regarding one of the patents.


read more (3889 words) 284 comments  View Printable Version
Most Recent Post: 05/23 05:23AM by Ian Al

A Sun Position Paper on Software Patents, 2006 ~pj
Sunday, May 20 2012 @ 02:20 AM EDT

I can't find it on Oracle's website any more, but thanks to Internet Archive, we can find Sun Microsystems writing about software patents in 2006 and explaining its position. This was back when the European Union was for a while considering adopting software patents. You will not believe what Sun's position was. It's definitely relevant to the Oracle v. Google litigation.

Sun's position paper was titled, "Software Patents: A European Union (EU) Directive on the Patentability of Computer-Implemented Inventions must not Jeopardize Interoperability." The title says it all, but I'm going to show the entire statement to you in all its glory, so Oracle can't pretend, as it tried unsuccessfully to do with the Jonathan Schwartz corporate blog, that it wasn't an official company statement. Sun strongly urged that Europe, if it adopted the Directive, "allow for the creation of products which can interoperate with the protected products to safeguard competition in the sector and to provide greater choice and lower costs for consumers."

Imagine that. Sun said publicly that interoperability was more important than IP rights, even patents, because it led to competition and hence greater choice and lower costs for consumers.


read more (2493 words) 361 comments  View Printable Version
Most Recent Post: 05/23 04:10AM by Ian Al

The Oracle v. Google Trial Exhibits - Can You Help List Them? ~pj
Saturday, May 19 2012 @ 02:07 PM EDT

I'm so excited to tell you that we have all the publicly available trial exhibits from the Oracle v. Google trial. We should thank this judge, the Hon. William Alsup, because he is the one insisting on keeping the trial as public as possible. I know you join me in saying thank you for this treasure.

Now, logistics: there are a lot of them, and I could use your help.


read more (2335 words) 96 comments  View Printable Version
Most Recent Post: 05/21 05:36AM by Anonymous

Day 20 in Oracle v. Google Trial And More Prior Art? ~pj - Updated 2Xs
Friday, May 18 2012 @ 12:18 PM EDT

The day begins with the juror who got sick yesterday being dismissed from the jury, after she called in sick. You only need six, and the reason the judge started with 12 is precisely to be able to smoothly handle such events. But I'm sure both sides are wondering if they just lost a supporter or two.

A reader left a comment yesterday, with contact information, on possible prior art. Even though it's too late for this trial, it's never too late to bring prior art to the attention of the USPTO, and who knows what will happen in this case and in Oracle's moves thereafter. Plus the '104 patent has been found preliminarily invalid, but there are further steps to go, so it might be useful. And while Google isn't relying on prior art in this trial on the '104 patent or the '520, instead saying it doesn't use the technology described in the patent, what if Oracle has plans, if the jury brings in a verdict for Oracle on the patents, to go after others? Also, if the '104 patent is finally found invalid by the USPTO, any damages linked to that patent will be wiped out. So I wanted to highlight the comment, just in case it's useful.


read more (2382 words) 319 comments  View Printable Version
Most Recent Post: 05/21 12:46PM by Anonymous

Oracle v. Google - JMOL (Patent) Response Briefs
Friday, May 18 2012 @ 11:05 AM EDT

Responsive briefs are almost always more interesting than the initial briefs because you gain some insight into the weakness or strength of a party's arguments by the ability of the opposing party to poke holes in that argument. That is certainly the case with respect to the responsive briefs filed by the parties in this case on the subject of the JMOL motions.

You have to love it when a quote from "Through the Looking Glass" shows up in a brief. In this instance it is Google's sole response to Oracle's suggestion that "[a] reasonable jury could only find that Google did not infinge the asserted claims of the 104 patent" by quoting:


read more (16164 words) 44 comments  View Printable Version
Most Recent Post: 05/21 07:22AM by eachus

Oracle v. Google - JMOL Briefs on Patent Infringement
Thursday, May 17 2012 @ 07:50 PM EDT

Not surprisingly, the Court has kicked out Google's JMOL on ownership and registration of the copyrights by Oracle. (1165 [PDF; Text]) This was always a bit of a stretch, more because of timing than the actual issues raised. Had Google challenged the registration much earlier in the proceedings or challenged the actual registration with the U.S. Copyright Office, they may have had a chance here, but this motion came far too late.

Both parties have filed their briefs in support of their JMOL's on patent infringement. The Google brief (1166 [PDF; Text]) focuses on their primary arguments for non-infringement. Much of their non-infringement defense on the '104 patent hinges on the definition of "symbolic reference." The definition adopted by the Court clearly favors Google. The non-infringement defense on the'520 patent focuses on the dx tool and Google's assertion that it does not simulate execution.


read more (16969 words) 132 comments  View Printable Version
Most Recent Post: 05/19 03:41AM by Ian Al

From the Courtroom, Day 19, Oracle v. Google, Jury Questions ~pj - Updated
Thursday, May 17 2012 @ 05:00 PM EDT

The jury continues to deliberate in the patent phase of the Oracle v. Google trial. They just sent in a question, basically asking if they are allowed to consider an aspect of Dr. Terence Parr's testimony as evidence that Android does not do what the '520 patent describes, which of course they are, as Google points out. That was the point of his testimony, and it's in evidence so it's fair game to consider it.

The judge asks both sides if they want a five-minute-each opportunity to argue the point before the jury, and Oracle says no. So he just tells the jury that he can't give them guidance on fact issues other than what he's already given them. That's their job. He tells the lawyers if he says yes, because of the exact wording of their question, they'll think he's telling them to find for Google. Judges do have to be very careful not to tilt the field. Surely, however, there's a way to answer the question with a yes, without tilting things. They are for sure allowed to consider that testimony and drawing whatever conclusions they think would be proper.

I can't imagine what the jury is thinking now, but I surely do see all the appeals issues mounting and mounting. And it's very clear that once again this is a jury that is divided and struggling to reach a unanimous conclusion. Our reporter in the courtroom provides us with the details.


read more (1972 words) 89 comments  View Printable Version
Most Recent Post: 05/23 09:37AM by Anonymous

Latest News Picks
  • Larry Page, Founder & CEO, Google on Charlie Rose (video)
    [PJ: Interview with Larry Page by Charlie Rose.] - CharlieRose.com

  • Amazon CTO Tells Us How It Built Its Cloud Business Into The Best In The Industry
    Werner Vogels, Amazon's CTO: We’re a company that works hard to lower its costs so that we can pass savings back to our customers. If you look at the history of AWS, that’s exactly what we’ve done. We’ve reduced prices 19 times over the past 6 years, and this an area we will continue to focus. ....

    BI: Who are your role models?


    WV: Two people that have clearly shaped my thinking have been Jeff Bezos and Jim Gray. Jeff because, next to having many other qualities, has shown me how to apply vision to daily operation.

    Jim Gray the famous researcher, who was regrettably lost at sea, has shown me that innovation and invention are fundamental traits not related to age. That age is not something that hampers you as an innovator it actually makes you stronger, which with an open mind you are able to attack ever-bigger problems as you mature. - Julie Bort, Business Insider

  • Tiny Georgia telco files first network neutrality complaint
    A tiny Georgia telecommunications firm has filed the first formal complaint under the Federal Communications Commission's new network neutrality rules. L2Networks charges that the Albany Water, Gas, and Light Commission (WG&L) has violated network neutrality principles by interfering with L2Networks's efforts to provide customers with VoIP service over Albany WG&L's fiber optic network. - Timothy B. Lee, ars technica

  • ITC judge recommends import ban on Microsoft's Xbox
    An administrative law judge for the International Trade Commission issued a recommendation that the commission ban 4GB and 250 GB Xbox gaming consoles from import to the United States. The recommendation(PDF) was released to the public on Monday, and would punish Microsoft for infringing against some of Motorola’s patents. The patents permit video transmission and compression on the console and between the console and its controllers. - Megan Geuss, ars technica

  • SAP to Buy Ariba for $4.3 Billion in Biggest Push Into Cloud
    SAP AG, largest maker of enterprise- applications software, agreed to buy Ariba Inc. for $4.3 billion in the German company's second multi-billion purchase in cloud computing to take on Oracle Corp. - Bloomberg News

  • Page: We’ve acquired Motorola Mobility
    It’s a well known fact that people tend to overestimate the impact technology will have in the short term, but underestimate its significance in the longer term. Many users coming online today may never use a desktop machine, and the impact of that transition will be profound--as will the ability to just tap and pay with your phone. That’s why it’s a great time to be in the mobile business, and why I’m confident Dennis and the team at Motorola will be creating the next generation of mobile devices that will improve lives for years to come. - Larry Page, CEO, Official Google Blog

  • Unpleasant Development for Kodak: ITC Judge Rules Key Patent Invalid
    Kodak’s plan to squeeze some much-needed cash out of its intellectual property portfolio has suffered another setback, one that may bleed it of some value.

    On Monday, a U.S. International Trade Commission judge ruled one of Kodak’s key patents invalid [PDF], undermining the photography pioneer’s efforts to assert it against Apple and Research In Motion. In his decision, ITC Judge Thomas Pender wrote that while some Apple and RIM products did indeed violate some claims of Kodak’s 6,292,218 patent, the patent itself, which covers the ability for a digital camera to preview images on an LCD screen, is invalid. - John Paczkowski, AllThingsD

  • Oracle submits cloud interoperability API
    Oracle on Wednesday said it will submit an application programming interface to the Distributed Management Task Force in the latest move to address cloud interoperability....

    Oracle’s move comes a week after Intel and a bevy of IT buyers formed a coalition to make clouds interoperable. The Intel effort is called the Open Data Center Alliance.

    Oracle’s API focuses on moving cloud resources whether they are public or private. “The API abstracts away from the underlying resources and turns them into logical entities,” said Rex Wang, vice president of product marketing at Oracle.

    [PJ: Considering that Oracle is currently asserting that APIs are copyrightable, in the ongoing Oracle v. Google trial, one would have to ask what are the license terms being offered? Interoperability isn't Oracle's middle name at the moment.] - Larry Dignan, ZDNet

  • Privacy Expert Paul Ohm to Join FTC Targeting Web, Mobile
    Paul Ohm, a law professor and privacy expert at the University of Colorado, is expected to join the Federal Trade Commission in August as a senior policy adviser focusing on Internet and mobile markets, according to people familiar with the situation. - Julia Angwin, WSJ

  • It's Official: Google Is Now a Hardware Company
    Woodside says he was speaking with board member Ram Shriram when Page asked him to run Motorola Mobility, the company Google had just acquired for $12.5 billion. “He said, ‘I know you’ve been looking for a challenge,’” Woodside recalls. “’I want you to run Motorola. I think you’d be great at it. Can you let me know by tonight?’” - Brad Stone, BusinessWeek


  • Older News Picks

    NewsPicks RSS


    Submit a Link

    Suggest a news story to our News Picks Editor.

    May 2012
    SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
    29
    30
    01
    02
    03
    04
    05
    06
    07
    08
    09
    10
    11
    12
    13
    14
    15
    16
    17
    18
    19
    20
    21
    22
    23
    24
    25
    26
    27
    28
    29
    30
    31
    01
    02
    Click on any day to search postings for that date.

    Articles Only

    Shortcuts

    Articles Only  Headlines only  XML Groklaw RDF  XML Groklaw RSS  XML News Picks RDF  XML News Picks RSS

    Groklaw © Copyright 2003-2012 Pamela Jones.
    All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners.
    Comments are owned by the individual posters.

    PJ's articles are licensed under a Creative Commons License. ( Details )