SAN FRANCISCO, May 27 (UPI) -- A federal jury ruled Google was within its rights to use Oracle's Java software to build its Android operating system, shutting down Oracle's $9 billion copyright violation claim.
The jury found Google did nothing wrong when it used Java code to create Android systems even though the software code was copyrighted. Google told the jury the company that originally created Java, Sun Microsystems, allowed Google to use the product without a license.
Google said the verdict "represents a win for the Android ecosystem, for the Java programming community, and for software developers who rely on open and free programming languages."
Oracle, which plans to appeal the decision, said Google needs a license to use Java software code to develop Android software.
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Oracle general counsel Dorian Daley said, "Google developed Android by illegally copying core Java technology to rush into the mobile device market." She added, "there are numerous grounds for appeal."
Oracle sued Google in 2010 for using some parts of Java without permission.In 2014, U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup ruled Java could not be copyrighted, but the decision was later reversed. When the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case, it returned to Alsup's court for jurors to decide.
The case is being hailed as a big win for programmers and software developers, many of whom watched the case closely for fear a positive result for Oracle would change the way application program interfaces, or codes that allow computer to talk to one another, can be used.
