Google, Oracle Trade Briefs in SCOTUS Case Over Java Code

Interoperability of open software interfaces enables the app economy, and is good for developers and consumers, Google argued in a supplemental Supreme Court brief Friday (18-956). The high court will hear oral argument Oct. 7 in Google v. Oracle, an intellectual property case (see 2007130056). Oracle sued Google for its use of Java programming code. A decision in favor of Oracle would limit consumers’ ability to use technologies across devices, Google Senior Vice President-Global Affairs Kent Walker argued. Oracle cited a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals finding on fair use: “It is not fair use for Google to copy popular portions of Oracle’s software for an identical, superseding purpose in a platform that competes with Oracle’s work and its derivatives.” Google exploited the code “for the same purpose for which Oracle created it in a protected market for Oracle’s work,” Oracle said.