Jurors have begun deliberating whether Google violated Oracle’s copyright on parts of the Java programming language.
Oracle is suing Google in federal court, claiming the Android mobile platform violated its patents and copyright to Java, and is seeking roughly $1 billion in copyright damages.
Two years ago Oracle paid about $7.4 billion to buy Sun Microsystems, acquiring Java, which is used in Android, in the takeover.
In court, Oracle attorney Michael Jacobs said the parts of Java software that Google copied took much creative talent to compose. “It’s kind of like creating a symphony,” Jacobs said during his closing argument.
But Google attorney Robert Van Nest said Sun’s leadership had supported Android, and that Oracle decided against pursuing a smartphone of its own. “It isn’t until after they failed that they brought this lawsuit here,” Van Nest said.
The jury will deliberate on copyright liability before moving on to hear evidence about patent infringement. US District Judge William Alsup must also decide some of the copyright issues.
The trial, which began earlier this month, is expected to last eight weeks.
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