UPDATED 07:49 EDT / APRIL 27 2012

Former Sun CEO Schwartz Defends Google’s Use of Java in Court

After Google admitted that they removed Java codes when Oracle filed a case against them, and Oracle’s bid to reinstate patent 702 was declined, it seemed like the trial would get a little boring.  But fear not, Google still has some tricks up their sleeves.

Schwartz defends Google

Jonathan Schwartz was the former CEO of Sun Microsystems before they were acquired by Oracle.  And he’s Google’s most crucial witness in the trial.  Why?  If you haven’t been following the trial here’s the simple explanation: when Google announced Android, the platform which Oracle is suing Google for using Java codes without acquiring a license, Schwartz congratulated the search giant in their achievement.

Schwartz sent his regards to Google via a blog post.  Below  is part of Schwartz post.  The whole post can be found here.

Congratulations Google, Red Hat and the Java Community!
I just wanted to add my voice to the chorus of others from Sun in offering my heartfelt congratulations to Google on the announcement of their new Java/Linux phone platform, Android.  Congratulations!

Back to the ongoing case, Schwartz appeared in court and stated that Java is an open platform, free to use by anyone but stated that they, Sun, weren’t happy about how Google used Java, had no plans of stopping them at the time.

Schwartz defined the difference between the Java open platform and the Java brand, stating that Google built the Dalvik virtual machine which mimicked Java, aiming to become an alternative to the Java open platform, that’s why they didn’t go after the search giant.  He also stated that from the start, Sun knew Google was using Java in developing the Android platform and they did not require Google to acquire a license since Java is free to be used by anyone.  But they also didn’t like the competition, so they tried to partner up with Google. Things feel through when Schwartz wanted to protect the Java brand – the name and the icon of steaming hot coffee – not the software code that defined the application programming interfaces (APIs) for the Java platform.

“[Android] added to the community because it added more Java. But it didn’t add to our brand. It was simultaneously a threat and an opportunity,” he said. “You have open APIs and compete on implementations.”

Oracle contradicted Schwartz’s statements saying that Oracle controls the Java APIs as part of the acquisition, and showed e-mails from Schwartz which stated that he was not pleased with Google.  Schwartz admitted that he wasn’t happy with what Google did, they used Java but did not give credit to it nor contributed to it, but stated that at least Google didn’t go to Microsoft’s Windows – at least with Android, they’re still part of the Java community.

“That was our way of bypassing the monopoly,” Schwartz said of Java in relation to Microsoft. “The way that you build trust with … partners is you say, ‘All these specifications are going to be built in the open’…. Then we can go on and build our own products.”

The former Sun CEO also discussed how they planned to have a Sun-Google phone because they wanted the revenue.  Schwartz claimed that at that time, they wanted a big licensing fee from Google  so they can call the device a “Java phone”.  But the release of the iPhone changed all that, Google decided to venture out into the mobile scene on their own terms.

“As soon as you take a license to someone else’s technology, you’re married. You have to get along,” Schwartz said.

Though Schwartz appeared calm and collected while giving his testimony in Google’s favor, there were times when he became unsettled – when Oracle’s lawyer belittled him, stating that he was not qualified to answer legal questions about Java since he only knows the business side of it.  Oracle’s lawyer even went as far as stating that the company saved Sun from financial ruins with the acquisition.


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