After a long-running court case that began in April 2012, where Oracle claimed Java software was used in Android without a license, the jury has found Google did not infringe on the disputed patents. The result could mean the case was expensive for Oracle, with little reward.
Arguments
Google has consistently said it did not violate the patents, calling company figures such as Andy Rubin and former CEO Eric Schmidt. The search giant also argued Oracle cannot copyright an open source platform such as Java.
"It's a huge blow," said New York-based copyright lawyer David Sunshine. A victorious Oracle could have received large payouts due to the success of Android, the most popular mobile operating system in the world.
Jury foreman Greg Thompson said the final vote was 9-3 in favor of Google, despite his vote for Oracle. "[A]t times he was the only holdout for Oracle," The Guardian said. Thompson also said Google convinced the "more tech-savvy" jurors
Reactions
"Oracle came into this thinking it was going to win billions. Now it will probably walk away losing millions in legal fees," Colleen Chen, professor at Santa Clara Law in Silicon Valley, said.
Deborah Hellinger, spokesperson for Oracle, said Oracle presented "overwhelming evidence" that Google was fragmenting and damaging Java. Kent Walker, Google general counsel, said the company "felt the factors were on our side."
Google ultimately won the case because Oracle couldn't prove Google didn't use Java in fair use. As The Guardian reported, there were concerns that an Oracle success would be "equivalent to allowing computer languages themselves to be copyrighted" and could set a precedent in the industry.
Next Stage
Judge William Alsup hasn't decided on whether APIs can be copyrighted, and said the next stage of the trial will be ruled independently. The jury has said it doesn't think APIs can be copyrighted, though the decision isn't final.
The trial revealed Android generated around $97.7 million in Q1 2010, and the platform has been more successful than Google expected or predicted: manufacturers adopting the platform are ahead of 2010 expectations.
Oracle was looking for around $1 billion in damages, while Google offered to pay $2.8 million for the two remaining patents.
