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Oracle: Google Owes Us A Boatload

"Google may owe Oracle nearly as much money in damages as Oracle paid to buy all of Sun Microsystems," according to IGD News Service. According to a court filing from Google late last week, Oracle's damages expert, Boston University professor Iain Cockburn, has estimated that Google would owe Oracle between $1.4 billion and $6.1 billion if it is found to have infringed on Oracle's Java patents, which Oracle acquired when it bought Sun last year for $7.4 billion.

Yet, according to Google: "Oracle's 'methodology' for calculating damages is based on fundamental legal errors and improperly inflates their estimates." Oracle sued Google last August, claiming, as IDG notes, it is owed money for Google's use of Java in its Android operating system for smartphones and tablets. Google disputes the claim.

Google doesn't charge for Android, but to figure out how much Oracle should be paid in damages, Cockburn "adds all of Google's revenue from advertising on all Android devices worldwide ... and then proposes awarding Oracle half of that amount," writes Scott Weingaertner, a lawyer representing Google, in a letter to the judge overseeing the case.

Read the whole story at Computerworld »

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