Google asks Supreme Court to weigh in over Java API use in Android
By Electronista Staff
The battle between Google and Oracle could be heating up again in the near future, as the search giant has petitioned the US Supreme Court to review the case for a final ruling. Previously, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal District overturned a lower court ruling that found Google didn't infringe upon Oracle copyright by using pieces of open-source Java APIs in Android without a license.
The legal battle dates back to 2011, when Oracle accused Google of copying aspects of 37 Java APIs in Android. Oracle was seeking more than $1 billion in damages for Google's use of code elements including headers, names and declarations. US District Judge William Alsup found in 2012 that Google wasn't guilty of infringement as APIs weren't subject to copyright protection.
Appeals court Judge Kathleen O'Malley believed otherwise, stating that "structure, sequence, and organization of the 37 Java API packages at issues are entitled to copyright protection." The decision to overturn in Oracle's favor would send waves through the tech industry, as Oracle considered it a win for the software industry. Google thought it set a dangerous precedent.
Google believes that the ruling from the US Court of Appeals would allow for "copyright monopolies" over some of basic computer programming and design elements. The company draws parallels to Remington's development of the QWERTY typewriter keyboard design. Had the appeals court applied the same logic to the invention as it did in the Oracle case, Remington could have "monopolized not only the sale of its patented typewriters for the length of a patent term, but also the sale of all keyboards for nearly a century."
Google says Remington wouldn't have been able to win a copyright infringement lawsuit against companies like IBM and Apple for their additions to the keyboard layout. Users expected companies to use the QWERTY design, it argues, after investing time to learn it. Remington wouldn't be "entitled to appropriate the investments" others made in learning how to use the keyboard. Google suggest that the Java API it used are important for function, but not a creative work that would be granted protection. Those APIs were added to Android because programmers were familiar with them, learned the elements and expected to use them.
"As relevant here, a person writing an Android application in the Java language may use shorthand commands to cause a computer to perform certain functions, such as choosing the larger of two numbers," said Google. "Programmers have made significant investments in learning these commands; they are, in effect, the basic vocabulary words of the Java language. When programmers sit down to write applications, they expect to be able to use them."
Google started the process of filing the petition back in July, asking for an extension to file until October 6. Even though the petition was accepted this month, the Supreme Court has until November 7 to respond.
Appeals court Judge Kathleen O'Malley believed otherwise, stating that "structure, sequence, and organization of the 37 Java API packages at issues are entitled to copyright protection." The decision to overturn in Oracle's favor would send waves through the tech industry, as Oracle considered it a win for the software industry. Google thought it set a dangerous precedent.
Google believes that the ruling from the US Court of Appeals would allow for "copyright monopolies" over some of basic computer programming and design elements. The company draws parallels to Remington's development of the QWERTY typewriter keyboard design. Had the appeals court applied the same logic to the invention as it did in the Oracle case, Remington could have "monopolized not only the sale of its patented typewriters for the length of a patent term, but also the sale of all keyboards for nearly a century."
Google says Remington wouldn't have been able to win a copyright infringement lawsuit against companies like IBM and Apple for their additions to the keyboard layout. Users expected companies to use the QWERTY design, it argues, after investing time to learn it. Remington wouldn't be "entitled to appropriate the investments" others made in learning how to use the keyboard. Google suggest that the Java API it used are important for function, but not a creative work that would be granted protection. Those APIs were added to Android because programmers were familiar with them, learned the elements and expected to use them.
"As relevant here, a person writing an Android application in the Java language may use shorthand commands to cause a computer to perform certain functions, such as choosing the larger of two numbers," said Google. "Programmers have made significant investments in learning these commands; they are, in effect, the basic vocabulary words of the Java language. When programmers sit down to write applications, they expect to be able to use them."
Google started the process of filing the petition back in July, asking for an extension to file until October 6. Even though the petition was accepted this month, the Supreme Court has until November 7 to respond.
Read more: http://www.electronista.com/articles/14/10/09/google.asks.supreme.court.to.weigh.in.over.java.api.use.in.android/#ixzz3FkKXlgtc
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