There are enough patent lawsuits currently grinding their way through the international courts without spending the time trying to research another.

Yet, the Oracle versus Google case over Java IP infringement has the potential to be the biggest of them all, given that Java underpins the majority of Android applications.

Daily floodgates

There's plenty going on in the suit, which according to Foss Patents looks like it going to drag on thorough 2012, and a good example of how lucrative the playing field is this footnote from Oracle's casework.

"Each day's worth of activations likely generates approximately $10 million in annual mobile advertising revenue for Google," it claims, referring to the currently 700,000 Android devices that Andy Rubin tweeted were being activated daily during December.

Of course, there's no reason to believe this is a particularly accurate figure: Foss says it's based on the assumption that Google generates $14 annually per Android use in terms of search revenue.

Nevertheless, it demonstrates the potential scale of such litigation should Google have to pay damages to Oracle.

[source: Foss Patents]