U.S. Supreme Court Finds Google's Copying Of Oracle's Java API Code A Non-Infringing Fair Use - Intellectual Property
In Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc., Case No. 18–956, 593 U. S. ____ (2021), the U.S. Supreme Court held that Google's unauthorized copying of around 11,500 lines of Oracle's computer code was a fair use and therefore not an infringement. Assuming, but expressly not deciding, that Oracle's copied Java SE program code was copyrightable, the Supreme Court reversed the Federal Circuit's most recent decision and held that Google's copying was a permissible fair use. The Supreme Court's decision placed particular emphasis on the nature of the copied code, which was part of a user interface an...