Google’s Page Describes Android as “Important but not Critical”

The Android Smartphone operating system is a very important asset for Google, but it is not critical, Google’s chief executive said in courtroom testimony.

Google CEO Larry Page took the stand for a second day on Wednesday in a high-stakes legal dispute with Oracle over Smartphone technology.

Oracle sued Google in August 2010, saying Google’s Android mobile operating system tramples its intellectual property rights to the Java programming language. Google says it does not violate Oracle’s patents and that Oracle cannot copyright certain parts of Java, an “open-source,” or publicly available, software language.

Under questioning from Oracle’s lawyer, Page said Android was very important but disputed the notion that it was critical. He then said that he wouldn’t be surprised if Google’s board was told that Android is critical to the company, as Reuters stated.

Page also said he was not aware of Google’s policies on the copying of the intellectual property of other companies. However, Page maintained Google did nothing wrong.

“We were very careful about what information we used and what we did not use,” Page said.

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison testified on Tuesday, saying that Oracle had explored building its own Smartphone before deciding against the idea