Oracle originally filed a suit against Google back in 2010, alleging that Google violated their patent and copyrights when using Java APIs as part of the Android operating system. Oracle was seeking $9 Billion in damages from Google.
The courts ruled with Google, however, saying that the Java APIs couldn’t actually be copyrighted. Of course, Oracle appealed the case. They won the appeal request in 2014, which sent the case back to be reheard. The second trial took place in 2016, and a jury found that Google’s use of the Java APIs was ‘fair use’ and therefore ruled in their favor.
Once again, Oracle appealed and the appellate court ruled with Oracle, saying that what Google did was outside of the ‘fair use’ provisions. The case has once again been remanded to trial court for an adjudication of damages to be awarded.
It is unlikely that the courts will award the full $9 billion, but Oracle will almost certainly be awarded some type of damages. Of course, that really isn’t too relevant at this point because unless the courts set an extremely low number, Google will appeal it.
This case may actually end up going to the Supreme Court at some point. This type of major legal battle that can take years to hash out can have a troubling impact on not only the two companies involved, but those who work with the companies as well, such as marketers. These types of lawsuits often push changes and other issues that people need to be aware of.
