Oracle on Thursday filed a lawsuit against Google, charging that the Internet giant’s Android software infringes on patents it now holds following its recent acquisition of Sun Microsystems.
Oracle called on a federal court to stop Google from using Java technology patented by Sun and pay an unspecified amount in damages along with legal fees.
The 5.17 billion euro (US$7.57 billion) deal for Sun, a one-time Silicon Valley star and developer of the popular Java programming language, was completed in January, giving Oracle possession of the firm’s patent library.
“Google’s Android competes with Oracle America’s Java as an operating system software platform for cellular telephones and other mobile devices,” Oracle said in its legal filing.
“The Android operating system software ‘stack’ consists of Java applications running on a Java-based object-oriented application framework, and core libraries running on a Dalvik virtual machine that features just-in-time compilation,” it said.
Google-backed Android software is used in an array of devices that have been gaining ground in the hotly competitive global smartphone market.
Oracle said Google has been aware of Sun’s patent portfolio since it hired former Java engineers years ago.
In related news, Google on Thursday rolled out an application that lets people use voice commands to have Android-based smartphones do tasks such as send e-mail or fetch driving directions.
The Voice Actions program will only work on handsets running on the latest Android 2.2 software, referred to as Froyo.
“Voice Actions are a series of spoken commands that let you control your phone using your voice,” Google product manager Hugo Barra and engineering manager Dave Burke said in a blog post.
“Even though our phones do all these new things, the most natural way of interacting with a phone remains what it always has been: speaking,” they wrote.
Commands included being able to tell Android smartphones to play requested songs, call specified contacts, find Web sites, map directions and send e-mail or text messages.
Voice control is triggered by tapping a microphone icon on the touch-screen of an Android smartphone.
The program will be pre-installed on Droid 2 smartphones being brought to the market by Motorola and Verizon.
Other smartphones running on updated Froyo software can get the feature by downloading an application from the Android Market online shop, Google said.
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