Internet giant Google has defended itself against a lawsuit from software company Oracle, which is accusing the search group of infringing patents and copyright for the use of Sun Java technology.
“We are disappointed Oracle has chosen to attack both Google and the open-source Java community with this baseless lawsuit,” a Google spokesperson told Information Week.
“The open-source Java community goes beyond any one corporation and works everyday to make the web a better place. We will strongly defend open-source standards and will continue to work with the industry to develop the Android platform.”
The lawsuit accuses Google of being aware of Sun’s patent portfolio, “including the patents at issue, since the middle of this decade, when Google hired certain former Sun Java engineers.”
It believes the Android mobile software “made or used in violation of Oracle America’s copyrights… be impounded and destroyed or otherwise reasonably disposed of”.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
