Google Wins Software Case -- WSJ
27 Maio 2016 - 4:03AM
Dow Jones News
By Jack Nicas
SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal jury found Google's use of Oracle
Corp.'s Java software in its mobile products didn't violate
copyright law, a verdict cheered by many in Silicon Valley who
believe it will protect how they write and use software.
Thursday's decision, which Oracle said it would appeal, marked
the latest chapter in a six-year legal battle in which Oracle
sought as much as $9 billion from Google for using 11,000 lines of
Java software code in its Android software.
Oracle sued Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc., in 2010 for using
parts of Java without permission. A federal appeals court later
ruled that Oracle could copyright the Java parts, but Google argued
in a new trial this month that its use of Java was limited and
covered by rules permitting "fair use" of copyrighted material.
The verdict "represents a win for the Android ecosystem, for the
Java programming community, and for software developers who rely on
open and free programming languages," Google said in statement.
Oracle General Counsel Dorian Daley said in statement, "Google
developed Android by illegally copying core Java technology to rush
into the mobile device market." Ms. Daley added: "there are
numerous grounds for appeal."
The technology industry has watched the case closely because it
could determine how software programs use application program
interfaces, or APIs, computer code that helps programs, websites or
apps talk to one another.
Oracle sued Google over its use of 37 Java APIs in Android,
which runs most of the world's smartphones. Google said it used the
APIs to help software engineers, many of who are familiar with
Java, build Android apps.
Google and others in Silicon Valley said an Oracle victory in
the case would have stifled software innovation by discouraging
programmers from using APIs. That would make software development
harder and could render some apps inoperable, they said.
"We are popping the bubbly here," said Uri Sarid, chief
technology officer of MuleSoft Inc., which helps firms build APIs.
He said APIs help programs reach broader audiences and "there's a
chilling effect if your building block can't talk to mine."
Pamela Samuelson, an intellectual-property law professor at the
University of California at Berkeley, said an Oracle victory would
have given big tech companies too much power, by allowing them to
require others to obtain licenses to work with their software.
"You would be beholden to incumbents. They could say,
'absolutely not,' or 'give me your first born child,' " she said.
"Software innovation has been based upon being able to freely
create and innovate by operating with other programs. That has been
a core value from the beginning."
Oracle, meanwhile, said the verdict hurts innovation by
weakening intellectual-property protections for software and
discouraging tech companies from investing to create new
programs.
During the nearly three-week trial, Google argued that
executives at Java's creator, Sun Microsystems Inc., didn't believe
Google needed a license to use Java. Oracle acquired Sun in 2010.
Former Sun Chief Executive Jonathan Schwartz, a Google witness,
testified that he was upset Google never obtained a license for
Java, but didn't think it needed one.
Oracle insisted that Google knew it needed a license to use the
Java APIs but decided to use them anyway. Oracle showed the jury
Google emails in which executives discussed needing a license.
One test of whether a use was protected under federal copyright
law's fair use rule is whether the amount of material used is
substantial. Google said the 11,000 lines of Java code it used was
less than 0.1% of Android's 15 million lines of code.
Oracle argued that it was more than all the code in the Apollo
lunar module.
Write to Jack Nicas at jack.nicas@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 27, 2016 02:48 ET (06:48 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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