Oracle Sues Google Over Android

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. (

TheStreet

) --

Oracle

(ORCL) - Get Report

is suing

Google

(GOOG) - Get Report

for patent and copyright infringement related to the Android operating system, according to published media reports.

Oracle claims Google's Android OS infringes the Java technology it acquired when the

database giant bought Sun Microsystems earlier this year

, according to the

Associated Press.

Seen as one of the

key weapons in Sun's armory

, Java is widely used for developing application software, particularly in areas such as smartphones.

Oracle's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that Android contains Java applications and other technology, according to the

AP

report. The software maker claims that this infringes on one or more parts of seven different patents, and also claims that Android infringes its Java copyrights.

Oracle's claims come at a time when Google is enjoying growing demand for its mobile OS.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt recently explained that

the Internet giant is activating 200,000 Android smartphones a day, up from just over 100,000 in June.

Earlier this month research firm the

NPD Group

also released figures showing that Android had overtaken RIM as the most popular OS on U.S. smartphones.

Google has not yet responded to

TheStreet's

request for comment on this story.

-- Reported by James Rogers in New York

Follow James Rogers on

Twitter.