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[karlaserv]

Oracle and Google's Android copyright row trial begins

Oracle's claim that Google violated several of its patents and copyrights has gone to trial in San Francisco.

In one of the biggest such tech lawsuits to date Oracle is claiming about $1bn (£630m) in compensation.

The Java developer claims Google's Android system infringes intellectual property rights relating to the programming language.

The judge warned both companies that sensitive financial details about each company would be made public.

"This is a public trial," US District Judge William Alsup said.

In a court filing made on Sunday, Oracle said it expected its chief executive officer Larry Ellison and Google CEO Larry Page to be among its first witnesses

Much of the case does not centre on Google's use of Java itself - which is free for anyone to use without licence - but rather the Android-maker's use of 37 APIs (application programming interfaces) which allow developers to write Java-compatible code.


Apps in Google's Play might need to be recoded if it loses the case

APIs allow different parts of a programme to communicate together as well as letting one application share content with another.

"APIs are the glue that allows computer programs to talk to each other - in this case Android apps use them to access the phone's features like its screen and memory," said Dan Crow, chief technology officer at Songkick and a former Google tech team leader.

"If Oracle wins the case and APIs are held to be copyrighted, then in theory, virtually every application - on Android, Mac OS, Windows, iPhone or any other platform - has to be at least re-released under new licence terms," told the BBC.

"This could result in many applications being withdrawn until their legality is resolved."