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I think Google thought they had their bases pretty well covered. They had implicit, if not explicit, agreement from Sun that Sun wouldn't take action on Java. T
by zmmmmm 11y ago
I think Google thought they had their bases pretty well covered. They had implicit, if not explicit, agreement from Sun that Sun wouldn't take action on Java. Then on top of that, the code they were using was clean room engineered based on decades old precedents in court that held that clean-room engineering an API was legally allowed. Then they probably felt that in the worst case scenario a switch to OpenJDK would get them out of trouble (and for the future it probably will). With 3 separate levels of protection I think they just felt the odds of them losing all of them were small.
- rz2k 11y agoMy memory isn't clear, but was Apple/iOS considered the threat such that whether it were SUN or Oracle it would be an ally rather than a competitor? I seem to remember that the (much more expensive) purchase of Motorola was considered as a defensive move specifically to counter Apple IP claims.
- sangnoir 11y ago> I seem to remember that the (much more expensive) purchase of Motorola was considered as a defensive move specifically to counter Apple IP claims Or more specifically, to counter the $4.5B Nortel IP that Apple, Microsoft et al outbid Google to get. In retrospect, the IP arms race was foolish and extravagant.