Google, Oracle patent talks make little headway

Google and Oracle chief executive officers made little headway this week in negotiations aimed at resolving a lawsuit accusing the web-search company of patent infringement, a person briefed on the talks said. The two sides, scheduled to meet yesterday in federal court in San Jose, California, were at loggerheads after the day-long session and were unlikely to reach a settlement soon, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. Oracle sued last year, saying Google didn't obtain a license to use Java technology patents that it says are infringed by the Android mobile-device operating system. Besides seeking billions of dollars in damages, Oracle wants the court to order destruction of all products that violate its copyrights. Google's Larry Page and Oracle's Larry Ellison appeared before US Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal during talks that lasted more than 10 hours. Deborah Hellinger, a spokeswoman for Redwood City, California-based Oracle, and Katelin Todhunter-Gerberg, a spokeswoman for Mountain View, California-based Google, declined to comment. Oracle's suit may represent a bigger menace to Google's software than challenges from Apple, which has already won patent decisions against Android device makers.