Oracle and Google locked in $1bn copyright battle

Oracle is seeking $1bn (£631m) in compensation from Google for what it claims is an infringement of intellectual property in the development of Google's Android software platform.

In a court document, Oracle argued that the Android software platform, based on Java technology, needed a licence but that "Google chose to take its chances and push forward with Java, helping itself to Oracle's intellectual property without a license".

Oracle acquired Java technology in 2009 as part of its £5bn acquisition of software vendor Sun Microsystems.

At the time, Oracle said that Java was "the most important software [it] had ever acquired".

Google's lawyers argue that the programming language should not be covered by copyrights law.

"Google has never taken the position, before a court or agency or otherwise, that a programming language was or is copyrightable. Google does believe that computer source code implementing a language can be copyright," Google's lawyers said in another court document.

Oracle agrees that Java is not covered by copyright law, but it says that Google needed a licence for the Java application programming interfaces (APIs) used to implement the language.

It said that the API represented "years of creative design" and that the software giant will suffer from losses that stretch far beyond a lost license fee.

"By incorporating the specific copyrighted works and patented inventions into Android and giving Android away for free, Google has undermined Oracle's ability to license Java to wireless device manufacturers," Oracle argued in the first court document.

In response Google's lawyers added that the application programming interfaces, which are source-code-based interfaces that use Java to communicate with each other, are necessary for any use of the Java programming language.

"Without the APIs, the Java programming language is deaf, dumb and blind," said Google's lawyers.

The trial started today in San Francisco and is set to last for eight weeks.