Sun dealt another blow in Java dispute with Microsoft
Federal judge rejects two Sun-initiated summary judgement motions in Java copyright dispute
May 8, 2000 — Sun Microsystems on Monday was dealt another small loss in its legal battle with Microsoft over the Java programming language.
In a ruling issued late Monday, the US District Court judge who is overseeing a pair of lawsuits that the two companies filed against each other dismissed Sun’s claim that Microsoft had infringed on Sun’s Java-related copyrights. Judge Ronald Whyte also rejected Sun’s motion for a summary judgment against Microsoft on the copyright issue.
This follows two other preliminary defeats that Whyte has handed down against Sun from his federal court bench in San Jose, Calif. It’s part of a series of rulings on a total of 10 summary-judgment requests that the two companies have filed in the three-year-old case.
Last month, the judge rejected Sun’s claim that it didn’t have to deliver Java upgrades that were compatible with Microsoft’s version of the programming language
And in January, Whyte denied Sun’s attempt to reinstate a preliminary injunction against Microsoft for copyright infringement. At the same time, however, Whyte did allow Sun’s motion for a preliminary injunction against Microsoft on the grounds of unfair competition.
In a statement issued Monday, Sun said the judge’s latest ruling “is consistent with” his two January decisions and still leaves open its claims against Microsoft of trademark infringement, breach of contract, and unfair competition.
A Sun spokesperson Tuesday declined to comment further pending Whyte’s rulings on the remaining summary-judgment motions. “That is really what we’re waiting for,” she said.
Microsoft officials didn’t return phone calls and couldn’t be reached for comment at press time.
Sun filed suit against Microsoft three years ago, charging that the software vendor acted improperly by creating a nonstandard version of Java that was optimized for Windows-based systems. Microsoft denied the charges and filed a counter suit against Sun alleging breach of contract, unfair competition, and other charges. A trial date hasn’t been set yet.
