Copyright Infringement
Google
has been found liable for copyright infringement for its use of the Java in
Android but it hasn’t been decided if it was “fair use.” The verdict that was
delivered was a partial victory for Oracle but they will have to wait longer to
see whether Google will get out of liability with its claim of fair use. When the verdict was delivered the next step
was the patents phase of the case, and the case had three parts to it. First is
to address copyrights, then the patents and lastly the any damages Oracle
should receive. Technically APIs (application programming interfaces) have not
been considered copyrightable. But Oracle argues that the set up is merit to
protection. Oracle was happy with the verdict. “The overwhelming evidence
demonstrated that Google knew it needed a license and that its unauthorized
fork of Java in Android shatters Java’s central write once run anywhere
principle,” it said. One industry analyst was troubled by the jury's decision.
"I was a bit disappointed by the verdict, as I think that the precedent of
copyright for APIs opens up a real can of worms and potentially stifles
software innovation," Forrester analyst Jeffrey Hammond said via email. Google did prevail on some other issues,
including whether it infringed a copyright for Oracle's Java API documentation.
The jury also ruled in Google's favor in two out of three instances where it
was accused of copying a small amount of code line-by-line from Java. Fair use allows the copying of creative
works for certain limited purposes, such as teaching, commentary and satire.
The jury in this case considered factors such as whether Android was
"transformative," meaning did it amount to a new creation or was it
simply derivative from the Java APIs. They also considered how much of the work
as a whole was copied; whether the use was commercial; and how much harm Oracle
suffered as a result. I don’t agree with the verdict because if they didn’t make
APIs copyrightable before then why is Google liable for using Java in Android.
