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Sun CEO publicly endorsed Java code use in Android

July 26, 2011 — 10:16am ET | By Jason Ankeny

A November 2007 blog post published by Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwartz congratulates Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) on the announcement of its Android mobile operating system, adding a new wrinkle to allegations by Oracle (which acquired Sun in April 2009) that Google "directly copied" elements of Sun's Java programming language.

Schwartz's post--subsequently deleted by Oracle but republished Monday by Groklaw--goes on to state "Sun is the first platform software company to commit to a complete developer environment around the platform, as we throw Sun's NetBeans developers platform for mobile devices behind the effort. We've obviously done a ton of work to support developers on all Java based platforms, and we're pleased to add Google's Android to the list."

Groklaw editor and attorney Mark Webbink explains that the Schwartz blog could impact Oracle's case against Google. "The interesting question about this and other similar comments that were apparently made by Sun executives is whether the statements communicated an understanding to Google and others that they would not be threatened with Sun's patents; statements upon which they relied," Webbink writes. "This is the legal doctrine of estoppel." (The estoppel doctrine protects one party from being harmed by another party's voluntary conduct.)

Oracle's suit seeks billions in damages against Google, alleging that "approximately one-third of Android's Application Programmer Interface (API) packages" are "derivative of Oracle's copyrighted Java API packages" and related documents. According to court filings submitted late last month, Oracle wants Google to pay $0.9 billion to $1.4 billion upfront for infringing on its patents. Oracle also wants 15 percent of mobile advertising revenues generated across the Android platform. Late last year, Google said its mobile ad business operates at a run rate of $1 billion annually.

Last week, Google attorney Robert Van Nest said the company turned down an offer to pay $100 million in royalties in exchange for using elements of Java in Android, adding that that the 2006 offer from Sun outlined a three-year, "all-in" deal to jointly build Android, not a patent licensing agreement. "There wasn't any specific discussion of patents," Van Nest said after U.S. District Judge William Alsup requested an explanation for why Google and Sun entered talks. Van Nest stated that while a few lines of code in Android are "identical" to Java, the code likely came from a third party, adding "We are investigating that."

For more:
- read this ZDNet article
- read Schwartz's post