Oracle has been ordered to pay Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) $1.13 million in court costs following its failed efforts to prove the Android mobile operating system infringes on Oracle patents.
After U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup ruled against Oracle in May, Google requested that Oracle reimburse $4.03 billion in legal costs; on Tuesday, the judge denied $2.9 million of that total, looking favorably on Google's request to cover expenses related to expert witness James Kearl but denying reimbursement for e-discovery fees paid to vendor FTI Consulting.
"The problem with Google's e-discovery bill of costs is that many of [the] item-line descriptions seemingly bill for 'intellectual effort' such as organizing, searching and analyzing the discovery documents," Alsup wrote. "Most egregious are attempts to bill costs for 'conferencing,' 'prepare for and participate in kickoff call' and communications with co-workers, other vendors and clients."
The Oracle suit, filed in 2010, alleged approximately one-third of Android's API packages are derivative of Oracle copyrights and related documents. Oracle sought $6 billion in damages and injunctive relief. Alsup determined that that the structure, sequence and organization of the 37 Java APIs at the center of Oracle's claims are not subject to copyright protection. Oracle has said it plans to appeal Alsup's decision.
