Oracle takes on Google

In every decade of computing, there is a court case that becomes known as the "trial of the century".

In a new patent case, the intrigue spans several of the biggest names in the tech industry, knits together many eras of computing and reveals the way programmers try to solve a quintessential problem: how to make their software work across many devices.

The case reveals something of how the world is refocusing its efforts, sadly perhaps, from innovation to extracting revenue through patent protection.

Two giants, Oracle and Google, are going head-to-head in a California court over the programming language Java, which is used for building apps that run on feature phones and smartphones.

On one side is Oracle, the maker of big database systems, which has its origins in the early days of computing and is known, in part, for the grandstanding of its flashy billionaire CEO, Larry Elison.

On the other side is Google, the newest 800-pound gorilla, which is a titan in every segment it has entered: search, cloud-based e-mail and storage, and now mobile phones.

Its Android operating system is giving it a major footing in the smartphone market, which is increasingly becoming a two-horse race - with Apple.

Oracle accuses Google of using Java on Android without paying for patent licences.

Google acquired Android in 2005, and began selling Android phones in October 2008. There are now an estimated 300million phones and tablets running Android, with about 700000 activations a day.

Java is more than 20 years old. It was described as "write once, run everywhere" and able to work across multiple computer operator systems.

Oracle - citing a number of revealing and, it argues, incriminating e-mails between Android chief Andy Rubin and then Google CEO Eric Schmidt - wants Google to pay it damages to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars as well as continuing royalties on each handset sold. Google, in turn, cross-examined Elison about his earlier comments on whether you can copyright a language.

It is just the latest round in a battle that has been brewing for the past few years as the big tech firms consolidate their patent portfolios (last week Microsoft paid AOL $1.1-billion for 800 patents, while Google bought Motorola Mobility for $12.5-billion last year). This is ahead of a protracted war for dominance in the smartphone industry, the next evolution of computing.

Given the rich history of all the firms involved and the odds at stake, as the headlines correctly predict, Oracle vs Google does appear to be the tech trial of the century. Until the next one, that is.