The case drew interest across the spectrum of technology firms and creative industries, and heated debate on how much copyright protection should be afforded to bits of computer code. — AFP WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court on April 5 handed Google a major win in a long-running copyright battle with Oracle, ruling that the use of the Java programming language for the Android mobile operating system was “fair use”. The 6-2 ruling had been closely watched as a key test of copyright in the digital era, and allows Google to avoid paying out billions to its technology rival. Justice Stephen Breyer wrote in the 39-page majority opinion that even if Google used copyrightable material, “the copying here at issue nonetheless constituted a fair use. Hence, Google’s copying did not violate the copyright law.”