Jury enters deliberations in Google-Oracle hearing

The high-profile patent infringement battle between Google and Oracle has entered jury deliberations.

The juror panel will now decide whether Google infringed on Oracle's Java patents in developing its Android mobile platform.

The deliberations mean that the US District Court proceedings could be nearing an end. The two firms have for weeks argued their sides in a case which has included testimony from top executives on both sides.

Oracle has argued in the case that Google knowingly lifted portions of its Java platform for use in Android without seeking to obtain a licence. Google has countered that any Java code used in Android did not require a license.

The hearing has also provided insight to the inner workings of both Google and Sun, with evidence and testimony suggesting that neither company could agree internally on whether Android violated Sun patents and would require a license.

Florian Mueller, an intellectual property law blogger who has been following the case, said that the instructions from Judge William Alsup and the language used in the document had been hotly debated by both sides in the case.

"[Alsup] adopted various proposals from both parties, but neither party will be completely satisfied with it," Mueller explained in a post to his FOSS Patents blog.

"Depending on which party wins the verdict, we'll almost certainly see an appeal unless there's a settlement."