[JURIST] Settlement negotiations between Oracle and Google [corporate websites] mediated by the US District Court for the Northern District of California [official website] broke down [opinion, PDF] on Friday. The case is now set to head for trial [IDG News report] on April 16. Oracle has alleged that Google’s use of Java in its Android OS violates Oracle’s patents and copyrights. Google and Oracle had been undergoing last-ditch effort settlement negotiations [IDG News report] and had until April 9 to reach an agreement, but Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal chose to end the talks early, citing “irreconcilable differences.” Oracle’s initial proposed damages have been reduced substantially since the suit was initially filed, but Google has been unable to exclude a potentially damaging email by oe of its employees.

Smartphone technology using the Android OS has been litigated all over the world. In February Apple [corporate website] requested that the US District Court for the Northern District of California grant a preliminary injunction [JURIST report] against Samsung to block the company from selling its new phone which uses the Android OS, the Galaxy Nexus [official profile]. Apple requested a separate injunction against Samsung in the same court alleging that Samsung’s “Galaxy” line of products copies Apple’s iPhone and iPad technology, but was denied [JURIST report]. Google’s new privacy policy, which came into effect last month, has come under scrutiny [JURIST report] as well. EU data authorities are concerned about the sharing and combination of personal data across services and its compliance with European data protection legislation.