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June 30, 2015

Google lose appeal in Java copyright battle against Oracle

In 2014 lower court ruled in favour of Oracle.

By CBR Staff Writer

The US Supreme Court has rejected Google’s appeal to intervene in a software copyright battle it has been fighting with Oracle.

In 2010, Google was accused of copying names, declarations, and header lines of Java APIs in software that helps programmes work on different types of operating systems and hardware.

Oracle argued that certain kinds of programming instructions are entitled to copyright protection, but Google said that by copyrighting creative works it would become difficult for companies and programmers to use standard software functions.

The justices declined to intervene in the May 2014 appeals-court ruling, which ruled in Oracle’s favour, stating that APIs were entitled to copyright protection.

Oracle previously sought over $1bn in damages and fought against the search giant’s appeal to let everyone use any part of Java in software or apps for free.

The Wall Street Journal cited Google spokesman as saying: "We will continue to defend the interoperability that has fostered innovation and competition in the software industry."

Oracle General Counsel Dorian Daley said the high court’s action, "is a win for innovation and for the technology industry that relies on copyright protection to fuel innovation."

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