Google, Oracle ordered to hold lawsuit talks

Oracle Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison and Google CEO Larry Page were ordered to attend a September 19 settlement conference in the business-software maker's copyright- and patent-infringement lawsuit against the search engine company. US Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal in San Jose, California, issued the order on Saturday after both sides agreed to attend new settlement discussions and said they would send other senior executives. Grewal is overseeing mediation between the two companies. US District Judge William Alsup, who is presiding over the case, said in a September 8 court filing that he "strongly" recommended that Ellison and Page attend the talks. "The party representatives required to attend this and any further conference include, but are not limited to, Larry Ellison of Oracle and Larry Page of Google," Grewal's order said. Oracle, the largest maker of database software, sued last year, alleging Google didn't obtain a licence to use its 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. The two companies have made previous efforts to settle, including private discussions, which lacked "follow-through," Oracle's attorneys said in a court filing. Jim Prosser, a Google spokesman, and Deborah Hellinger, an Oracle spokeswoman, declined to comment on the order. Grewal gave both sides until today to file settlement conference statements. A trial is scheduled to begin on October 31. The case is Oracle America Inc v. Google Inc, 10-03561, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).