Google asked the patent office to reexamine Oracle's patents soon after it filed its lawsuit. The PTO has issued preliminary "office actions" rejecting Oracle's claims in four of the patents, and upholding them in a fifth. Google says it expects office actions for the remaining two patents shortly. However, legal experts have cautioned against reading too much into the preliminary rulings, some of which Oracle has already appealed.

David Mixon, a patent lawyer with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings who has been following the case, said he thinks the judge is likely to stay the case, given that the patents are in the process of being reexamined.