The Supreme Court overturned the decision of the appellate instance
Yesterday, the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of Google, which is part of Alphabet, in a patent dispute with Oracle Corp over the rights to the Java programming language and the use of this software platform in the Android operating system.
The ten-year war between Google and Oracle is over
In 2010, Oracle sued Google for copyright infringement in connection with Java in Android. Initially, the amount in the claims was $ 1 billion, but in 2015 Oracle increased the amount. Oracle has accused Google of illegally copying more than 11,000 lines of Java code to develop the Android operating system, which powers more than 2 billion mobile devices worldwide.
In 2016, a court ruled in Google’s favor, claiming Java was free to use. However, in 2017, Oracle went to an appellate court, which upheld the company, claiming that Google had infringed Oracle copyrights.
The Supreme Court overturned the appellate ruling, adding that Google has done nothing wrong and that copying Java code partially is fair use. Google was supported by six and eight members of the Supreme Court attending the meeting.
In a statement, Google chief lawyer Kent Walker called the decision “a victory for consumers, interoperability, and informatics.” Oracle chief attorney Dorian Daley condemned the decision.
