Oracle lost their fucking case against Google!
9In thrilling news (thanks @froodyfrog!), Oracle has lost their battle with Google over whether or not the usage of the Java APIs was fair-use.
From sarahjeong on Twitter:
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/05/google-wins-trial-against-oracle-as-jury-finds-android-is-fair-use/
(Sucks that this case ever got this far, but oh well- Google won decisively here).
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But as we know, in corporate litigation, it’s not over till it’s over - and Oracle is still in a position to appeal.
@curtise
They said they will.
@FroodyFrog was there ever any doubt? Maybe once SCOTUS tells them to go pound sand they’ll give up… maybe.
While I do like what Google is doing with Android, and I hope they keep doing it, what Google did was copyright infringement. I think it is fair that the creators or owners of a product or service have whatever control over it that they want. Maybe Oracle is overreacting or is trying to hurt Google or Android, and maybe not.
Whatever the outcome, I hope Google does not discontinue or stop updating their operating system, as I have not had the chance of owning an Android device, yet.
@DVDBZN so far Google’s won two out of three cases that say it isn’t. Oracle is purely IP squatting and trying to cash in on Google’s cash cow.
@DVDBZN This isn’t copyright infringement. Google created an API equivalent language. We have OpenJDK which does the same, looks and functions exactly the same (well there are minor differences) as Oracle’s. They bought Java after Google was developing Android and saw a cash cow with Google. Oracle has a history of being a company of lawyers first and foremost.
Really it’s akin to suing every third party auto parts manufacturer because their parts fit the same as the manufacturer’s. If Oracle had won this, we can throw technology out the window because even oir BIOS would fall under the same issues.
@nowayride I like that auto part manufacturer analogy. What about when other programming languages were created like BASIC. You had Microsoft BASIC and Applesoft BASIC.
Or what about languages like JavaScript that is used in nearly every browser and HTML? If none of those used the same API’s, the compatibility of web browsers would be worse than they are already. (Note, that JavaScript is different from Java)
@nowayride
Ah, I thought Oracle bought Java long before the idea of Android was conceived.
@DVDBZN Android was initially developed by Android, Inc. which Google bought in 2005 and was unveiled in 2007, Sun Microsystems was acquired by Oracle in 2010
@jbartus @DVDBZN And according to the article above, Oracle filed the lawsuit in 2010. So they bought Sun and immediately sued Google? Did they just buy a company because they thought they could win a lawsuit using that company and pocket the damages?
@jqubed that’s pretty much the assumption, yeah.
@nowayride Unfortunately, since the dumbasses in the appeals court decide APIs are copyrightable, it’s already a possibility. Fair use is determined on a case by case basis through a trial, there’s no other way. Going forward, having to defend your API use in a costly trial is now a possibility for every software developer.
@RuralNinja yeah IDK what the hell that appeals court was up to but I am not a fan in the least.