Summary: Almost two years since the launch of Oracle's case over Java/Dalvik this whole argument carries on

THE CONFLICT over Dalvik meets conflict within Sun's former management and one former head makes his views clear; Android is not infringing on patents/copyrights. The local press (California) further adds that this case shows the flaws of the patent system as a whole. To quote:

The big news out of the Oracle versus Google showdown on Monday was that one of Oracle's patents was brought back from the dead, put back into play after the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office reversed its earlier rejection.

But let's be clear: One zombie patent isn't the remarkable thing in this case. The remarkable thing is that, when the dust settles, five of the seven patents Oracle claimed that Google violated will likely be overturned because Google forced the patent office to take a second look.

Developers of Android applications (of whom I will soon be one) suffer a great deal from software patents, but to giant corporations and their lawyers this is not a problem at all. All they want patents for is everything but innovation or competition. Throughout this coming month we'll re-attempt to catch up with older patent news (personal life got in the way). There's still a pileup of old news that's important and relevant to us. ⬆