Friday, April 9, 2021
In a narrowly drawn, yet significant decision, the Supreme Court reversed the Federal Circuit and ruled that Google LLC’s (“Google”) copying of some of the Sun Java Application Programming Interface (API) declaring code was a fair use as a matter of law, ending Oracle America Inc.’s (“Oracle”) infringement claims over Google’s use of portions of the Java API code in the Android mobile platform. (
Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc., No. 18-956, 593 U.S. (Apr. 5, 2021)). In reversing the 2018 Federal Circuit decision that found Google’s use of the Java API packages was not fair use, the Supreme Court, in a 6-2 decision (Justice Barrett did not take part in the case) found where Google reimplemented the Java user interface, taking only what was needed to allow outside developers to work in a new and transformative mobile smartphone program, Google’s copying of the Sun Java API was a fair use as a matter of law. This decade-long
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On April 5, 2021, the United States Supreme Court handed down a decision that could have profound implications in the software industry. It held 6-2 that Google’s copying of 11,500 lines of code from Oracle’s Java SE API in Google’s Android platform was a fair and transformative use
The Court pushed the boundaries of the “transformative” test beyond determining whether the use is different than the copyright holder’s intended use, handing Google a major legal victory in a case with extremely high stakes.
When Google designed its Android platform, it made it free to developers to allow them to build applications for smartphones that, in the words of the Court, “make the phone better.”
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On 5th April 2021 the United States Supreme Court (USSC) finally delivered its verdict on the most keenly watched copyright dispute of this century. USSC s 6-2 decision is a big win for Google as it overturned the 2018 decision of Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit which decided in favour of Oracle. USSC held that Google s use of the Java Application Program Interface was a fair use as a matter of law.
Origins of the Dispute
The case started in 2010 when Oracle filed a law suit against Google in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (District Court) for both patent and copyright infringement. The main allegation of Oracle was that Google s unauthorised use of 37 packages of Oracle s Java Application Programming Interface (API) in its Android operating system infringed the patents and copyright of Oracle. An API divides and arranges the world of computing tasks in a particular manner and programmers can then use the API
United States Supreme Court Rules For Google In A Landmark Fair Use Decision - Intellectual Property mondaq.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from mondaq.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Google s Copying Of Oracle s Java SE API Was Fair Use , Holds US Supreme Court
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Putting an end to a decade long copyright battle between Google and Oracle, the Supreme Court of United States, held that Google s copying of the Java SE API was a fair use of that material.
The court (6:2) noted that the API included only those lines of code that were needed to allow programmers to put their accrued talents to work in a new and transformative program.
Oracle had sued Google in 2010 for copyright infringement over this copied computer code. The Federal Circuit court ruled in favour of Oracle and this made the Google approach the Supreme Court.