The world of business is one that is filled with scandals and controversies. Some businesses operate dependently, while others operate independently. Nonetheless, in one way or another, every business needs to use the products or services of another business in order to enhance their operation. Using the products of others whether open or restricted, demands that the user should acquire the copyright of using the products from the owners and in accordance to the owner’s copyright rule. In the event that a business uses other business’s products in such a way to violate the copyright rule, this may lead to huge scandals and court battles which remain as significant events in the industry. While looking at the current world of business, a current event of this nature is the one where Google won a major court battle against Oracle.
Google and Oracle have dominated news over the past few years due to the legal battle that existed between them. Oracle had gone to court in protest on use of their proprietary java codes by Google. The company was seeking to receive damages worth over $9 billion from Google. Oracle believed that Google had infringed its copyrights by the using Oracle’s java codes in its android system. However, the six year court battle came to an end in 2016 which saw Google win the case per the judge’s ruling.
The legal dispute between both companies began in 2010 when Oracle Corporation sued Google for allegedly using some of the aspects of its Java codes in their smartphone technology software without their authorization. The trial has been going on for years and Oracle was once asked to copyright the particular parts of the java. The 37 Java APIS used by Google run most of the smartphones in the world. In their defense, Google indicated that they used the APIs in aiding software engineers in the development of android apps and continued to argue that most of these engineers were quite familiar with Java. In their argument, Google proceeded to state that they were keen to indicate that their use of this Java was not against the rules governing the permitted level of fair use on any copyrighted material.
The case attracted much interest from many participants in the technology industry due to the fact that its ruling would shape the future of how various software programs make use of the APIs and computer software codes that aid applications, programs and websites in carrying out their communication. In right of this, Oracle as a corporation had great interest in winning this case since they felt that Google’s use of their APIs was illegal and a violation of their copyrights.
Nonetheless, even after waiting for the ruling for six years, the Federal jury ruled in favor of Google. In his decision, he stated that Google’s use of the various Java APIs was in line with the allowed level of the fair use of copyrighted material. It was evident from the ruling that Google in their operations had not violated the copyright rules as it had been indicated by Oracle and therefore, no damages were accorded to the petitioner.
As it is the case on any ruling of any case, the Jury’s ruling in favor of Google elicited mixed reactions from the various interested parties. The verdict awarded was received with great cheer by most people in Silicon Valley since they believed the ruling was a form of protection in relation to their writing as well as their use of the software. This was a big win not only for Google, but also for the entire industry. Google stated that it was a win for the entire ecosystem relating to the android system, the community involved in Java programming and for the software developers in general since it is a promotion to free and open programming languages that are of great significance to them. Additionally, Google proceeded to state that Oracle’s victory in this case would have been a hindrance to software innovations since it would be against the use of the APIs by programmers which would make the task of developing software harder, hence hindering the usage and operations of some Apps. Moreover, others felt that Oracle’s win in this case would have given the big technology companies too much power which would hinder the end use of their software by the consumers.
However, Oracle disregarded the ruling followed by much objection saying that it’s a setback to the field of innovation. In their statement, Oracle stated that such a verdict discourages technology companies from investing in the invention of new programs since it weakens the protection of intellectual properties. They insisted that Google knew that before using the APIs they needed a license, yet decided to use them without obtaining the authorization; and further insisted that such a ruling encourages such action. Consequently, Oracle remains unsatisfied with the Jury’s ruling and given an opportunity, an appeal is a probable decision by this corporation.
In short, the case of Google wining the six year court battle cannot be underestimated as it is a major event in the technology industry. The anticipation produced by this case is not only interesting but it is also encouraging. In the ruling, the Jury argued that Google does not in any way go against the copyright rule on the use of the Java. However, the ruling that elicited varied reactions from different parties; both for and against the ruling. According to Oracle, the ruling was a great setback to innovation especially in the software technology. Nonetheless, Google and its supporters felt that it was a new dawn for the technology industry in general. All in all, this marked as a huge event in the world of business and one that remains in the books of history years to come.
- Mamiit, A. (2016, 05 27). Google Wins Case Against Oracle Over Java Use In Android: Why This Is Important For Everyone – See more at: http://www.techtimeGoogle-wins-case-against-oracle-over-java-use-in-android-why-this-is-important-for-everyone. Retrieved 09 23, 2016, from Tech Times: http://www.techtimes.com/articles/161267/20160527/google-wins-case-against-oracle-over-java-use-in-android-why-this-is-important-for-everyone.htm
- Nicas, J. (2016, 05 26). Google Wins Java Copyright Case Against Oracle . Retrieved 09 23, 2016, from The Wall Street Journal: http://www.wsj.com/articles/google-wins-java-copyright-case-against-oracle-1464294647
- Woolf, N. (2016, 05 26). Google wins six-year legal battle with Oracle over Android code copyright. Retrieved 09 23, 2016, from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/may/26/google-wins-copyright-lawsuit-oracle-java-code
