Google wants Apple not to remove its search bar from the Apple iPhone and was willing to pay them a tidy sum for the privilege.
In 2014, Apple Inc. was awarded $1 billion by Google. This is documented in a transcript of legal proceedings from Oracle Corp.’s copyright lawsuit against Google. Apple is receiving a percentage of the revenue generated by Google on Apple’s iPhone. This was related by an attorney for Oracle at a hearing in federal court on January 14th.
Both Kristin Huguet of Apple and Aaron Stein, speaking for Google preferred not to comment on the court disclosure. Although there have been rumors circulating for years on the exact figures that have been passed between Google and Apple, the companies have kept the information under wraps.
This legal agreement between the companies is evidence of the extent to which Google is willing to go in order to ensure people use its search engine on mobile devices. And, although Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has been known to criticize the search tool as an intrusion of privacy, it’s clear that Apple is financially benefiting from the arrangement with Google’s business model.
For five years, Oracle has claimed that Google used its Java software to develop Android without paying for it. The claim was taken to the U.S. Supreme Court where Google lost a bid to derail the case. It went on to U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco where Oracle is seeking over $1 billion after expanding its claims to cover newer Android versions.
One of the witnesses questioned during pretrial information said, “At one point in time the revenue share was 34 percent.” This information was disclosed by Annette Hurst, Oracle’s attorney at last week’s court hearing, although whether that is the amount paid to Apple or not wasn’t clear.
An objection was raised by Robert Van Nest, the attorney for Google who felt that the information should be withheld and tried to have the mention of 34 percent stricken from the record.
According to the records, Van Nest said, “That percentage just stated, that should be sealed. We are talking hypotheticals here. That’s not a publicly known number.”
Later in the hearing, the request by Google to block the sensitive information in the transcript from the public was refused by the magistrate presiding judge. However, since Google believed the disclosure could be detrimental to future agreements with other companies, they requested that Alsup seal and redact the transcript. Apple therefore agreed to a separate filing.
In its January 20 filing, Google said, “The specific financial terms of Google’s agreement with Apple are highly sensitive to both Google and Apple. Both Apple and Google have always treated this information as extremely confidential.”
At about 3 p.m. Pacific standard time, the transcript mysteriously disappeared from electronic court records. There was no indication that the court ruled on Google’s request to seal it.
