Google Slaps Oracle With $4 Million Legal Bill

Oracle’s narrow victory over Google in the pair’s intellectual-property dispute over Android and Java may end up costing it far more than the paltry $150,000 to $200,000 in damages awarded it in the case. The search behemoth feels it deserves million of dollars in reimbursement for the expenses it incurred over the course of the trial.

And on Thursday it appealed to the presiding judge to force Oracle to pay them.

“Google prevailed on a substantial part of the litigation,” Google said in a Bill of Costs filed with the court, and obtained by Wired. “[Oracle] recovered none of the relief it sought in this litigation. Accordingly, Google is the prevailing party and is entitled to recover costs.”

Those costs amount to roughly $4 million, including transcript fees of about $143,000, court-appointed expert fees of $987,000 and a jaw-dropping $2.9 million for obtaining, copying and organizing documents used in the case.

That’s pocket change for Oracle. But Google’s demand for it is certainly a twist of the knife to its antagonist, which had once hoped to recoup billions of dollars in damages for Android’s alleged Java-related patent infringement. The judge presiding over the case has yet to rule on Google’s request.

Oracle has said it plans to appeal the court’s ruling. A company spokeswoman declined comment on Google’s reimbursement request.