X
Business

Closing statements in Oracle-Google trial expected on Monday

The copyright portion of the Oracle-Google trial is wrapping up soon, and Oracle is already looking to add in another patent for the next round at court.
Written by Rachel King, Contributor

SAN FRANCISCO -- We could have a verdict in the copyright portion of the Oracle-Google trial as soon as next week.

Google's lead counsel, Robert Van Nest, informed the Judge William Alsup at the U.S. District Court on Wednesday morning that he expects his team to wrap up their case in this segment of the trial as soon as Thursday.

For reference, the 8-week intellectual property trial is split up in three parts: one to handle copyright issues, another for patents, and then a final deliberation round for the jury if damages are found.

Google only started its case on Tuesday morning when it called Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt to the stand. Android chief Andy Rubin is expected to continue his testimony today, followed by Google virtual machinist Dan Bornstein. By comparison, Oracle took nearly six days.

Thus, Oracle's counsel, David Boies, informed the judge that his side would have their closing statements done by Friday. Both Boies and Van Nest agreed on 90 minutes each for closing statements.

Judge Alsup asked both lawyers if that would be enough time, and although they both consented, Boies remarked that "it's never enough at the end, your honor."

Nevertheless, Judge Alsup isn't as optimistic as Google and Oracle's lawyers when it comes to timing.

Judge Alsup reminded the lawyers that there would need to be time to conference with the jury for instructions on reaching a verdict. Thus, he doesn't expect closing statements to happen until at least Monday, April 30.

Although Judge Alsup said he "suspects it will take a minimum of a day and a half for the jury to reach a verdict," he warned that it could take up to all of next week.

Looking forward, the patent portion of the legal battle is looking even more heated as Oracle wants to add another patent back into the trial. Oracle counsel Michael Jacobs explained if the third patent is added to Oracle's case against Google, that rings up 18 claims for the jury to hear.

Naturally, Google's legal team opposes the move, as Van Nest said to Judge Alsup, "Your honor's orders were crystal clear," and that this should had been settled months ago before the April 16 trial start date.

Van Nest also said that Google's legal expert on this patent is not available to testify, leaving Google "prejudiced" in a number of ways.

Judge Alsup had a simple response: "I'll think about it."

Related:

Editorial standards