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Third Parties On Hook For Java Android LawsuitsThird Parties On Hook For Java Android Lawsuits
Google has made a filing saying that any third party that is using its open source Android OS would be liable should Oracle decide to go after any of its device makers after it is done with Google. This contradicts an earlier position by the search giant. This may be more of a shrewd strategy though than hanging its partners out to dry.
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Google has made a filing saying that any third party that is using its open source Android OS would be liable should Oracle decide to go after any of its device makers after it is done with Google. This contradicts an earlier position by the search giant. This may be more of a shrewd strategy though than hanging its partners out to dry.Back in April, Google said they would step defend the Android OS. This came from a Google spokesman at the time:
"We are disappointed Oracle has chosen to attack both Google and the open-source Java community with this baseless lawsuit. The open-source Java community goes beyond any one corporation and works every day 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."
That statement, of course, gave Google some wiggle room, and last week, they decided to wiggle a bit. In claiming a number of defenses against Oracle in the Java suit, they backed away from defending third parties. Their sixteenth defense was stated:
Any use in the Android Platform of any protected elements of the works that are the subject of the Asserted Copyrights was made by third parties without the knowledge of Google, and Google is not liable for such use.
Now, on the surface of it, any device maker needs to start booking a legal reserve, or at least consider the possibility, that they will be sued by Oracle and if they are, they are on their own. Regardless of the merit of Oracle's suit, there will be costs. Even if it is 100 percent baseless, a suit could tie up cash and management's attention in a very competitive market, neither of which a smartphone manufacturer needs to deal with.
When I told you that Android isn't free, the first point and potentially the most expensive is that if Android infringes on any patent, due to the nature of how open source software works, the user, not the creator, is held liable - the user being the company that incorporates Android into a device, not the consumer.
Apple, HP/Palm, Nokia and RIM don't have to worry about this because they develop their own platforms, so if they violate patents, it is of their own making. Microsoft's customers also don't have to worry about this. The license fee that device manufacturers pay Microsoft indemnify them against any patent violations. If Windows Phone 7 violates a patent and you get served with a suit, just forward it to Microsoft and they will deal with it.
This is not the case though for Android device makers. Google, however, may not be walking away so much as daring Oracle to go after Google's partners, noted here by Groklaw's Pamela Jones. Suing Google because it has deep pockets makes sense. Oracle may not have the stomach though to go after a lot of the little guys. Google may be trying to get Oracle to settle.
Just another move in a game of chess. We'll have to see what Oracle's next move is.
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