Google Won. So Did Tech.
In siding with Google, the Supreme Court gave software experts some love.
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On Monday, the Supreme Court said it was kosher to copy someone else’s computer code in some cases. That handed Google a win in a decade-long court battle with Oracle over the guts of the Android smartphone system.
I’ll explain why the technology industry was relieved by the decision, and the ways it might be relevant for artists, writers and archivists. I also want us to ponder this: Why are thorny legal questions seemingly inescapable in technology right now?
Google s Copyright Win Over Oracle Impacts Fair Use, Software
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Supreme Court Hands Google A Win Over Oracle In Multibillion-Dollar Case
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Google used about 11,500 lines of the Java code created by Oracle, but the court noted, that was only 0.4% of Java code. And because Google incorporated that four-tenths of a percent in an entirely new and transformative code for Android smartphones, that was a fair use under the nation s copyright laws, and Oracle is not entitled to payment.
Writing for the court, Justice Stephen Breyer recounted the decade-long history of the case, noting that the Java programming language was was invented by Sun Microsystems, which was acquired by Oracle. But Java was developed primarily for use in desktop and laptop computers. And Google, shortly after acquiring the Android firm, began talks with Sun about the possibility of licensing the entire Java platform for its new smartphone technology. But Google s plan was to use the popular Java code on an open-source basis, available for free to anyone. Sun objected, and talks broke down, at which point Google decided to build its own platform,
Supreme Court Hands Google A Win Over Oracle In Multibillion-Dollar Case
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