Oracle V. Google

Oracle vs. Google

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Case Analysis: Oracle vs. Google

Issue

What is the legal question that, when answered, determines the legal result of the case? What are the parties disputing and what do they want the court to decide?

The legal question is whether Oracle can claim copyright on Java APIs and whether Google broke these copyright rules or not? The Android operating system was based on a new system of Java that was written by Google itself. There were certain similarities in the Java APIs used by Google and Oracle. These specifications allow the various programs to communicate with each other CITATION Jef18 \l 1033 (Lazarto, 2018). The court will decide whether the use of APIs by google was fair or not and whether the use broke the copyright laws.

Rule

What law or test applies to the issue?

The law is associated to API and copyright law. The dispute is based upon the use of several lines of code including the application programming interfaces. These interfaces were owned by Oracle. Google has shifted the use of APIs to other engine and claims that its use of APIs was under fair use. The initial lawsuit stated that the APIs come under the copyright material.

Analysis

Some courts decided the case in favor of Google stating that the Aps do not fall under the copyright issues. The problem with favoring Oracle was that it would have provided an almost monopoly to Oracle regarding technological development. This verdict of the jury was challenged by Oracle in the US court of appeals. There were 37 packages of source code related to computer. The important thing is the content of the codes but nor their names. Oracle filed a suit in the US district courts that Google’s Android Mobile operating system used the copyrighted material owned by Oracle. The actions taken by Google were found to break the copyright laws against Oracle in a specific computer routine called Range check. The security files were not broken by Google’s use. There was an equal verdict of the jury in terms of fair use defense from Google. Google admitted that it had copied the security files and no jury was able to convince that this copying was de minimis. Since there was a deadlock on the fair use aspect, further hearings of the case were required to have a clear verdict on it. The court accepted some part of the previous verdict, reversed some part and called for further proceedings CITATION eff14 \l 1033 (eff.org, 2014).

Conclusion

The conclusion was that Google did not break the copyright rules by replicating the API packages. The district court entered the decision in favor of Google and stated that there was no infringement of copyright laws by it.

No, I do not agree to the court’s ruling because Google basically misused the code without bringing it in the notice of Oracle. There are certain ethical considerations in this case. From the Oracle’s perspective, it should have used the available forums to make sure that the relevant code is properly protected by copyrights and other related laws.

Answer the following questions.

If I was a judge, I would have ruled it in the favor of Oracle because Google used the codes with prior permission or information to Oracle. Secondly, I would have asked the management of Oracle to get all their materials protected with copyrights.

What makes this case significant?

The case is significant for many reasons. If Google had not been able to get the codes under consideration, it is hard to assume that it would have been this successful in the market. Secondly, if the verdict had been in the favor of Oracle, Google would have to ground many of its applications resulting in a big loss to the whole information technology field.

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY eff.org. (2014, November 10). https://www.eff.org/files/2014/11/10/oracle_v_google_13-1021.opinion.5-7-2014.1.pdf. Retrieved from https://www.eff.org: https://www.eff.org/files/2014/11/10/oracle_v_google_13-1021.opinion.5-7-2014.1.pdf

Lazarto, J. (2018, August 21). https://upperedge.com/oracle/unraveling-the-oracle-vs-google-lawsuit/. Retrieved from https://upperedge.com: https://upperedge.com/oracle/unraveling-the-oracle-vs-google-lawsuit/