Nutter doesn't get it...
"In a blog post of his own, Java coder, JRuby lead developer, and former Sun employee Charles Nutter doesn't call Oracle's seven patents "goofy." But he does call them "laughable."
"The collection of patents specified by the suit seems pretty laughable to me. If I were Google, I wouldn't be particularly worried about showing prior art for the patents in question or demonstrating how Android/Dalvik don't actually violate them," he writes. "It feels very much like a bunch of Sun engineers got together in a room with a bunch of lawyers and started digging for patents that Google might have violated without actually knowing much about Android or Dalvik to begin with.""
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The patents have already been granted. Showing prior art may be an attempt to invalidate the patent, however the patent is in place and Oracle can and is suing Google for a willful infringement. If Google wanted to challenge the patent on the grounds of prior art, then they should have done so to invalidate the patent.
The fact that on first blush, the lawyers and engineers can view the patents, view Android/Dalvik and make a reasonable judgment call... you have grounds for a lawsuit.
As Gosling said, patents good/bad/indifferent are a defensive measure to protect a company.
Just use the "RISC patent" as an example...
Oracle has more to lose than Google by not suing....