Some of Google’s biggest rivals are taking its side in a Supreme Court battle
0Reported today on The Verge
For the full article visit: https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/14/21059180/oracle-google-supreme-court-copyright-lawsuit-amicus-brief-filings
Reported today in The Verge.
Some of Google's biggest rivals are taking its side in a Supreme Court battle
After nearly a decade, Oracle's copyright lawsuit against Google is close to settling an important question: can you own the basic commands of a coding language? The Supreme Court will reach an answer over the coming months, but a long list of academics, advocacy groups, and businesses - including some of Google's competitors - are urging it to throw out Oracle's claims.
Outside groups filed over two dozen supporting briefs in Oracle v. Google yesterday, the overwhelming majority arguing that a Google loss would hurt computing as a whole. IBM and Microsoft both filed on behalf of Google, as did the CCIA and the Internet Association, two trade groups that represent a large swathe of the tech industry. A group of 72 intellectual property scholars and 83 computer scientists added their support. Even some less intuitive groups filed briefs - like the Auto Care Association and the printer cartridge company Static Control Components, which are also backing Google.
The case's core arguments are well-trodden by now. In the mid-'00s, Google built its Android operating system with support for Sun Microsystems' Java platform. It avoided licensing Java by largely building its own version of the underlying code - but it couldn't avoid reproducing some lines that were key to the language. When Oracle acquired Sun in 2010, it claimed that Google had violated Java-related patents and copyrights. Google said that these lines comprised a tiny fraction of Android, though, and that they were the only way to let developers write functional code for Java.
A court agreed with Google in 2012, permanently removing the patent claims from the case. But Oracle appealed the copyright rulin