Oracle Funds Non-Profit Group To Smear Google Following Crushing Java Loss
Oracle is not going down without a fight. The company is currently funding a nonprofit group to help blacken Google’s name following their legal battle over Java. Ken Glueck, Senior Vice President of Oracle, has admitted that Oracle is “absolutely a contributor” to this smear campaign.
Oracle is currently aiding in the “Google Transparency Project” on the Campaign for Accountability website. The “Campaign for Accountability” was created this past Spring in Washington in order to promote initiatives such as LGBTQIA rights and clean water. Daniel Stevens, Deputy Director of the “Campaign for Accountability” has refused to name any of their other donors. Microsoft has stated that they are not a part of this campaign.
The “Google Transparency Project” claims that they have so far identified 258 instances of “revolving door” activity between Google and Congress. They also argued that Google visited the White House 427 times between January 2009 and October 31, 2015. The data is supposedly drawn from President Obama’s meeting records.
Oracle and Google have been at each other’s throats for some time. In 2010 Oracle filed a lawsuit and claimed that Google injected certain parts of Oracle’s Java platform into Android without a licensing agreement. Oracle sought $9.3 million USD in damages.
Oracle General Counsel Dorian Daley remarked, “We strongly believe that Google developed Android by illegally copying core Java technology to rush into the mobile device market. Oracle brought this lawsuit to put a stop to Google’s illegal behavior.”
Two years after filing suit, the case went to trial. A jury ruled that Google did infringe on Oracle’s Java copyrights in Android, but it could not decide whether or not it fell under fair use. The federal district court in San Francisco this past Spring decided that Google was in the right.
Oracle was clearly unhappy with these results. They have instead resorted to quietly supporting a campaign that reportedly uses “research, litigation and aggressive communications to expose how decisions made behind the doors of corporate boardrooms and government offices impact Americans’ lives.”
