Google Ordered to Reveal Bloggers it Paid Off in Case Against Oracle

Google

, creator of the world's most popular search engine, was ordered to reveal a list of bloggers it paid to cover its case against Oracle for a second time Monday. The original case centered around Oracle's

claim that Google owed it roughly $1 billion for patent violations with regards to its Android OS. While the jury ruled in favor of Oracle initially -- finding that Google had copied Oracle when it created the Android operating system -- the jury ultimately decided that Google's use of Oracle's patents fell under "fair use." Google did not have to pay the nearly $1 billion in alleged patent infringement charges, a ruling Oracle said it would "vigorously appeal." Following the decision, U.S. District Judge William Alsup stated that, for transparency purposes, he wanted both companies to disclose whether or not they had paid bloggers to cover the story. Bloggers are frequently a key part of companies' PR strategies to control the public's view --both of the parties involved and the regulators they are answering to. Oracle revealed the bloggers on its payroll, but Google claimed that it had not paid bloggers directly to cover the case. On Monday, the judge repeated his request, saying Google had not complied. The decision might make large firms think twice before denying their financial involvement with the press in the future. Google traded around $666 Tuesday.