Oracle asks to depose Larry Page over Android suit

From CNET News.com: Google CEO Larry Page might soon face questioning related to his company's legal battle over Android and Java.

Oracle yesterday submitted a request to Judge Donna Ryu of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to depose the Google co-founder and CEO regarding his involvement in his company's acquisition of Android Inc. in 2005. Foss Patents, a blog focused on software patents, was first to report on the newly filed request.

"Mr. Page is Google's CEO, and he reportedly made the decision to acquire Android, Inc., and thereby develop and launch the platform that Oracle now contends infringes its patents and copyrights," Oracle wrote in its letter to the judge. "Mr. Page also participated in negotiations that took place between Sun and Google regarding a Java license for Android and in subsequent communications with Oracle's CEO, Larry Ellison (whose deposition Google has requested). Oracle believes that Mr. Page's testimony will likely be relevant with respect to a number of other key issues in this case as well, including the value of the infringement to Google."

Oracle sued Google in August, alleging that the search giant violates a host of patents and copyrights related to Java, which Oracle acquired early last year from Sun Microsystems. In the lawsuit filed in District Court, Oracle argues that Java is a mobile operating system competitor to Android, and by allegedly using Java-derived technologies, Google's platform, including its Dalvik virtual machine, is violating Oracle's intellectual property.

In October, Google responded, asserting that Dalvik does not, in fact, violate Java patents and copyrights.

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