So, Oracle is suing Google over the use of some java script coding in the Android OS. Or something like that. The bottom line is that Google says that Java is an open source software that they can use if they want to, and Oracle says that it owns a good chunk of the basics that make up java because they bought Sun Microsystems, which wrote a whole lot of java back in the day. It’s all a little confusing and will take millions of dollars and dozens of lawyers to hash out, I’m sure- not to mention months and years of boring headlines. Oracle is, according to Mashable, “claiming egregious IP infringement,” essentially saying that Google is using Java without a patent, without a copyright, and went so far as to hire Sun Java programmers and ignore what they knew was the use of Java in parts of the mobile OS that run a lot of Java-based apps.

If that all doesn’t mean much to you because you aren’t fluent in techspeak, don’t worry. Here’s what I think is the critical issue and argument:

Google’s Android phones run on an operating system that is created by a huge team of people, many of whom do not get paid. It’s the ethos of open-source that the many contribute a little so that the project moves forward. I think Oracle is just whining a little bit, but they may have a point, as I don’t know the intricacies of Java.

Google responded by saying this:

“We are disappointed Oracle has chosen to attack both Google and the open-source Java community with this baseless lawsuit. The open-source Java community goes beyond any one corporation and works every day to make the web a better place. We will strongly defend open-source standards and will continue to work with the industry to develop the Android platform.”

So, Oracle says this is a clear case of Google stealing, using, and profiting off of what Sun (now Oracle) built. And Google says Oracle needs to back off because they are only using what the open-source community is creating.

Who is right? The courts will decide. I just can’t see the courts telling Google to turn off every single Android phone. And Oracle just wants a little money, so my money is on the courts throwing it all out, or Google settling with Oracle for a few dozen million or whatever.

What I’m interested in is the politics. Open source means everyone contributes for free- it’s the tech equivalent of a barn-raising event. Only afterward, it’s not just one family or one farm benefitting from the new structure- it’s a huge company like Google that then makes millions of dollars. Who owns something when it is created and expanded through open-source? Nobody, really- and, of course, anybody who wants to use it can.

You think mash-ups are wreaking havoc in the music copyright world? Just wait until multi-million dollar tech companies start building products on what the teenagers of today will be coding across platforms they grow up taking for granted.

Photo Credit: jagelado