Google has won a high-profile copyright case against Oracle, fending off a $9bn damages claim and establishing a legal principle that is likely to have a broad impact on software development.
The verdict, in federal court in San Francisco, came after nearly four days of jury deliberations over complex issues to do with how developers write code to allow systems to link effectively in the increasingly interconnected online world.
The case was triggered by Google’s decision to use some of the code from Java — a software platform later acquired by Oracle — when it was developing its Androidmobile operating system. The software it copied played a key role in helping outside developers write apps to run on Android, determining the so-called application programming interfaces that act as “hooks” to enable different programs to interoperate.
Oracle had already won an appeals court ruling that the APIs were covered by copyright law. But on Thursday the 10-person jury sided with Google’s argument that the internet company was covered by “fair use”, the doctrine which allows use of copyrighted material in limited circumstances.
Oracle immediately said it believed “there are numerous grounds for appeal”, and that it would bring the case to the federal circuit — the same court that had earlier upheld its claim that copyright law should apply to APIs.
Full Content: Financial Times
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Judge Mehta Questions Both Sides in Landmark Google Antitrust Case
May 2, 2024 by
CPI
FCC Urges Urgent Funding for Removal of Chinese Telecom Equipment from U.S. Networks
May 2, 2024 by
CPI
Former Pioneer CEO Facing Potential Criminal Charges For Colluding With OPEC
May 2, 2024 by
CPI
South Korea’s Antitrust Regulator Greenlights K-Pop Powerhouse Deal
May 2, 2024 by
CPI
Exxon’s Pioneer Purchase Approved, Former CEO Barred from Board
May 2, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Economics of Criminal Antitrust
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Navigating Economic Expert Work in Criminal Antitrust Litigation
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
The Increased Importance of Economics in Cartel Cases
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
A Law and Economics Analysis of the Antitrust Treatment of Physician Collective Price Agreements
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Information Exchange In Criminal Antitrust Cases: How Economic Testimony Can Tip The Scales
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI