United States: final episode of battle between Google and Oracle in Supreme Court
Oracle accuses Google of having reproduced the functioning of Java, a technology which has belonged to it since 2009. Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP
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Final episode of the battle between Google and software publisher Oracle is being played out this Wednesday before the Supreme Court of the United States.
Oracle accuses Google of using patents belonging to it.
The verdict could have huge repercussions for the entire tech industry.
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The battle will have lasted ten years.
Oracle accuses Google of having reproduced the functioning of Java, a technology which has belonged to it since 2009. At that time, the software specialist bought the company Sun Microsystems and became the owner of the Java programming code of which Sun Microsystems was the inventor.
According to Oracle, Google would have reproduced the operation of this technology without an operating license during the 2000s to design Android, its operating system which now equips a large number of smartphones around the world.
The group is demanding $ 9 billion in compensation.
For Google, the exploitation of Java was free and open to all before the acquisition of Sun Microsystems by Oracle.
This dispute could weigh heavily on the technology sector.
For years, the battle has raged between the defenders of intellectual property and the software developers who freely use themselves to invent new technologies.
The file is not without political ulterior motives: the founder of Oracle, Larry Ellison, is close to President Donald Trump.
Conversely, Google is the subject of an investigation by the US competition authorities.
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