A 2007 blog post from Sun Microsystems' then-CEO Jonathan Schwartz congratulating Google on the launch of Android and its use of Java has been deleted.
Way back in 2007, when Google first announced its new mobile OS, Sun Microsystems was still a company in its own right and held the patents relating to Java.
In it, Schwartz, and, by extension Sun Microsystems, seems to give Android his blessing: "I just wanted to add my voice to the chorus of others from Sun in offering my heartfelt congratulations to Google on the announcement of their new Java/Linux phone platform, Android. Congratulations!
"Today is an incredible day for the open source community, and a massive endorsement of two of the industry's most prolific free software communities, Java and Linux."
Sunshine, lollipops and Google
Fast forward four years, and Sun, along with its patents, has been bought by Oracle which is currently embroiled in a dispute with Google over those very Java patents.
Some now suspect that Oracle deleted the blog post in the hopes that it would not come up in the legal proceedings.
Unluckily for Oracle, the fact that the post has disappeared was spotted by Cnet, which then promptly revived the missing missive using the ever-handy Way Back machine.
It's not clear if this posting can or will have any real bearing on the court case; the last update saw Judge Alsup suggesting that Oracle rethink its claim for damages - but it certainly doesn't help a company trying to claim patent violation when it technically publicly gave its blessing less than five years ago.
