Google VS The World
This finale of The Billion Dollar Code begins with Juri and Carsten preparing for the big case. It’s judgment day and quite what Google have in store for them remains to be seen.
What happens on day 1 of the case?
The court hearing begins with Google’s opening statement. They say that they have no knowledge of who stole Terravision from Juri and Carsten, and only copied the patent. They also say that they did not infringe on the patent.
Lea tries to get the jury to see things from Terravision’s perspective, pointing out that Google Earth was created long after Terravision was in place. Of course, given the emotional nature of the jury, they work to try and convince them and win them over with analogies and simple-to-understand references. ..
Ralph, Eric’s star behavioural expert, implores both Juri and Carsten to be ready emotionally and physically - meaning they need to be spotless for the jury. ..
What happens on day 2 of the case?
Google Earth doesn’t make any money from ads, according to witness statements given today in the court case. This is something that Lea Boyd points out during cross-examination.
Ms. Martinez, Lea’s expert witness, testified that Google’s model is far more intrusive and malicious than other search engines, selling user data to third parties. ..
Ralph works with Juri and Carston on their posture as they enter the courtroom. Ralph is confident and wearing the right tie, one pointed out by Juri.
Does Carsten hold his nerve in the courtroom?
Carsten is grilled over the systems he and Juri used to create Terravision. The trouble is, the questions are designed in a specific manner to only allow him to answer yes or no. This one-way road only brings him down to admit that all of the different systems that he uses are within the public domain and you can’t get a patent for something within that domain. ..
The strategy of bringing in Google’s lawyer, Warren, backfires when Carsten turns the tables and questions them about search engines and whether they invented it. It works, and Carsten manages to survive the questioning. ..
What does the source code say? Are Google really copying Terravision?
Now, while all this is happening, Callaghan has been going through the source code for Google Earth and Terravision, looking for similarities. And they are? Absolutely. ..
Richard Callaghan takes the stand today to provide jurors with key evidence in the trial of Michael Jackson. He comes armed with excerpt files from the source code to show where the key moments are that have been copied.
The jury is having trouble understanding the technical language being used during the trial. Juri is getting frustrated and eventually leaves the courtroom. ..
Warren questions Callaghan’s integrity given that he’s being paid $400 an hour and his book doesn’t include anything to do with geographical data.
Meanwhile, Google’s technical expert, Chen, has a different tactic for Day 5 of the case. Chen questions Warren who decides to use a much more simplistic graph but one that ultimately uses visuals to tip the scales in their favour. Juri is obviously frustrated by this, pointing out that the images would be blurry if they were actually technically correct.
When Lea cross-examines Dr. Chen, she points out how she only decided to work with Google’s lawyers on a specific presentation rather than using proper evidence to back up her case up. As Chen admits this, Lea looks to have swung things back in their favour.
Does Juri manage to convince the jury?
The biggest problem in this case is Juri. He’s been the weak link and has caused problems for the team from the beginning. Carsten convinced him to do the right thing and not mention being part of the Chaos Computer Club, which could lead to problems with the jury. Regardless of whether or not he was actually a member, it would be difficult for them to accept this information. ..
Juri tells the court about the Chaos Computer Club and how he became a part of it. He manages to convince the judge not to allow questions pertaining to this asked in court.
Juri is questioned by Warren over his email sent over to Brian Anderson regarding Google. Juri does well to keep his cool until Brian steps in through the door and begins talking to Google’s lawyers. This causes Juri to snap and he accuses Brian of trying to sabotage the case. ..
Does Brian admit the truth in court?
Now that Brian has taken the stand, it’s clear that he is a key witness in this case. He is laughing and joking with Warren, seemingly winning the jury over. He also feigns ignorance, lying outright and claiming that he doesn’t really know who Juri is.
Juri is clearly upset with Carsten, but he stands up to Brian during the court’s recess. Unfortunately, he’s so entrenched in Google’s pocket that he walks right into Lea’s trap during the next bout of questions.
After cornering Brian, Lea calls him out for his lies and how he claims he didn’t know who Juri was when he clearly did. After cornering him, Brian outright admits that he did, infact, say that “Without Terravision, Google Earth would never have been possible.” Or did he? Well, it turns out all of this was a big vision concocted up by Juri, who’s hell-bent on seeing his old associate tell the truth.
The reality though is that Brian shrugs off the statement, feigning ignorance and claiming he doesn’t really remember.
Who wins the case?
The jury comes to a decision over both of the main questions in this case. First, “Do you find that Art+Com has proven that Google Earth infringes the patent?” is answered as no. Next, “Do you find that Google Earth has proven clearly and convincingly that the patent is invalid?” is answered as a yes. The third and final question: “Do you find that Google Earth uses a fundamentally different method than Terravision?” is also answered yes as well.
Google won the case against Terravision, but they are forced to stomach a slimy smile crossing Brian’s deceptive lips. This is an absolute tool.
In the wake of the recent Google scandal, Lea and Eric head back to the main office. Juri and Carsten thank her for helping to try and beat Google, but their work is in vain. Despite being reserved to the shadows, they’re both thankful that their ideas are at least out there for the world to be revolutionized. ..
What’s the real story behind Terravision?
As the episode comes to a close, we learn through expository text that Terravision was initially a joint project between Weathernews International, ART+COM and DeTeBerkom. Now, the accompanying documentary to this “Making The Billion Dollar Code” goes in a lot more detail about what really happened and is definitely worth watching. It’s 28 minutes long and airing on Netflix now.
The article discusses how a Silicon Graphics employee, who is said to have been close to the company’s president, leaked information about Terravision, which is said to have been funded by the CIA. The article also discusses how the development of Keyhole EarthViewer was allegedly based off of this information.
Google eventually acquired Keyhole and in 2014, Art+COM sued Google through a litigation finance firm, claiming that there were big similarities between Terravision and Google Earth. Like it is shown in the series, Art+COM ultimately lose the lawsuit. However, it does bring up the very real issue with Google and their aggressive stance toward patents and smaller companies.
The Episode Review
In the final episode of Billion Dollar Code, Google’s power comes to the forefront as a clash between the company and a small business ends with little surprise. Good luck trying to find out the true story of this one.
While “The Social Network” did an excellent job of emulating the high-stakes and pressure cooker feel of the original, “Juri” falls short in its drama grounding of Juri and his contemplation of whether he’ll be ready or not. While the drama leading up to his testimony is good, it ultimately only leads to a few moments of him on the stand which is a bit disappointing. Personally, I would have liked to see more development from him, similar to how Carsten’s round of questioning built tension. ..
Despite the small-scale outcome, this case ends with a satisfying conclusion that leaves little doubt over whether a second season will be made.
Netflix has been on a roll with their shows recently and Billion Dollar Code is another one to add to the watchlist. The final chapter keeps up the pressure and ends things on the perfect note, even if the case does end with a sad outcome for the Terravision gang.
