Oracle's CEO ran into Google's top lawyer at a Bat Mitzvah and told him 'Thou shalt not steal' (ORCL, GOOG)

Oracle

When Oracle CEO Safra Catz ran into Google's top lawyer Kent Walker at a bat mitzvah party, she had a very sternly-worded message for him, she says: "Thou shalt not steal." 

Catz told this story during her testimony on Tuesday on the stand for Oracle's ongoing lawsuit against Google. It was reported by Electronic Frontier Foundation Director of Copyright Activism Parker Higgins via Twitter.

At the heart of Oracle's lawsuit is the allegation that Google improperly used pieces of Java technology in Android without paying properly for the privilege. Oracle is seeking $8.8 billion in damages.

On the stand, Catz described "thou shalt not steal" as "an oldie but a goodie." Given that it's one of the Biblical ten commandments, it's especially appropriate for a bat mitzvah — a celebration of a Jewish teenager's first time being called up to read from the Torah.

Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/732591795767382016
Catz on the stand explains, "that's like a bar mitzvah, but for girls." Also described "Thou shalt not steal" as "an oldie but a goodie."

The bat mitzvah testimony has proven to be a hot topic at the trial, and it was even re-visited on Wednesday. 

An Oracle spokesperson tells Business Insider that the judge gave Google the opportunity to bring Walker to court for a narrowly focused 60-second appearance in case he wanted to refute Catz's account, but that Google declined.

Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/732943372042657792
In motions right now, we're discussing the bat mitzvah again T__T

Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/732943851497775105
Google is saying that Catz's account is wrong but that they don't want to counter it, subtext being fear that Oracle has set up a trap

Google's use of Java had Oracle pretty steamed, Catz testified.

Java was originally invented as a way to make it easy to write apps and software that work across multiple devices super-easily, no muss, no fuss. Although it evolved and ended up being more prominent in other areas, mobile phone makers paid Sun (and later Oracle) licensing fees to use it.

Catz testified that Google's decision to license Android for free caused Oracle's revenue to "plummet," and she gave an example that Samsung went from paying about $40 million a year to $1 million a year for the privilege, according to Reuters' coverage of the testimony.

For its part, Google is arguing "fair use" — that it's allowed to use Oracle's Java code, whether or not it's copyrighted. The lawsuit is ongoing.

NOW WATCH: Israel banned a book featuring an Arab-Jew romance, so Arabs and Jews responded by kissing on camera