Android Gets Google In Hot Water
By: Ainsley Brown
It would seem that Android, the smartphone software platform, has landed Google in some hot water. And, no it’s not some glitch in the system – Android users can now breath a sigh of relief.
The hot water comes in the form of a lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California: Oracle of America Inc. v. Google Inc.. In the suit Oracle claims that Google in developing Android “knowingly, directly and repeatedly infringed Oracle’s Java related intellectual property.” Parts of Java, according to Oracle, were included in the “stack” or package of software that forms Android.
Although Android was introduced less than two years ago it has fast become one of the most widely used smartphone operating systems and forms a major part of Google’s strategy to establish a beachhead in the fast growing mobile world. Android guarantees Google a platform for its search and advertising service as well as providing a hedge in case rival smartphone makers decide to block Google from their systems in the future. If Google loses the suit it could result in a major rethink in Google’s mobile strategy as Oracle could either force a redesign of Android or in all likelihood exact fees from some type of licensing agreement.
