Oracle oops

9 May 2016 By Reynolds Holding Follow @holdingren

Larry Ellison’s $160 bln software company says the web search titan illegally used Java for Android smartphone systems. Despite one favorable ruling, the copyright case looks weak. Worse, it may stifle coders and others. That’s anathema to a tech epicenter built on sharing ideas.

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A trial over Oracle’s claim that Google violated its copyright on parts of the Java programming language began on May 9 before a U.S. federal court jury in California.

Oracle says the search giant’s Android operating system illegally uses Java, while Google, now part of Alphabet, says it should be able to use the software without paying a fee under the fair-use provision of copyright law.

The case went to trial in 2012, when U.S. District Judge William Alsup ruled that the material at issue should not be subject to copyright. A federal appeals court reversed that ruling, saying the structure of the computer language that connects programs can be protected.

Oracle seeks $8.8 billion in damages and an injunction against Google’s future use of Java in Android.

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