Google’s Android mobile operating system is the most popular smartphone platform in the world. Android is based extensively on the Java programming language maintained by Oracle since the company bought developer Sun Microsystems.
Although Java is generally free to use for developers, Oracle started legal proceedings against Google in 2010. It claimed the company was illegally copying its Java code for use in Android. It argued Google should be paying royalties for its use of Java, based on revenue that Android creates.
The lawsuit has raged for several years. Oracle has been seeking $9 billion in damages from Google for what it sees as copyright infringement. However, a jury in San Francisco ruled in Google’s favour yesterday, seemingly putting an end to the proceedings.
The judge agreed that Google’s use of Java was in line with a “fair use” policy. It said that because Java in Android is part of a much larger system there is no basis for Oracle’s claims. Essentially, it ruled Google has used Java to create something entirely new and original, rather than simply copying it to avoid building its own version.
The ruling is the second against Oracle in the case. In May 2012, a judge ruled that programming languages cannot be copyrighted, although the decision was later reversed. The latest verdict effectively ends the case as the jury unanimously ruled in Google’s favour. Oracle intends to continue fighting though and has confirmed it will appeal the ruling.
“We strongly believe that Google developed Android by illegally copying core Java technology to rush into the mobile device market,” the BBC reports Oracle lawyer Dorian Daley said after the hearing. “Oracle brought this lawsuit to put a stop to Google’s illegal behaviour. We believe there are numerous grounds for appeal and we plan to bring this case back to the federal circuit on appeal.”
Google denied any wrongdoing. “Today’s verdict that Android makes fair use of Java APIs represents a win for the Android ecosystem, for the Java programming community, and for software developers who rely on open and free programming languages to build innovative consumer products,” said a spokesperson in a statement to the BBC.
The ruling has been welcomed by programmers worldwide. Many had feared a decision in Oracle’s favour could lead to future similar lawsuits by API developers worldwide. Such a movement could lead to hundreds of high-profile software products being targeted in copyright lawsuits for use of code believed to be freely accessible.
APIs are libraries of code that developers can include in their own programs. They provide abstracted access to features that may be difficult or time-consuming for a programmer to implement on their own, letting them concentrate on the unique elements of their software.
If widespread copyright lawsuits began against major APIs, the number of developers affected could quickly rise into the hundreds and then the thousands. Oracle alleged Google infringed on 37 of its Java APIs by re-implementing them in Android. Attorney Peter Bicks claimed the company “copied 11,500 lines of code” during Oracle’s closing statements to the court this week.