Google and Oracle have been locked in dispute for six years over whether Google is at fault for using Oracle's Java in the development of its Android mobile operating system.
Oracle claims that allowing Google to make free use of its Java software will hinder innovation within the software industry. Google, on the other hand, believes that applying license fees will prevent the development of streamlined software with unitary coding.
Google and Oracle met in court earlier in May, and after a two-week trial and three days of deliberations, the verdict has been issued.
The jury has voted that Google does not infringe the copyright owned by Oracle when it implemented 37 Java APIs in Android, as the APIs were protected by fair use.
If Oracle had won the case, the jury would then have moved on to determining how much in damages Google would pay to Oracle. The amount being pegged as a possible cost for Google is $9 billion, which needless to say would have been a hefty amount to pay for the company.
However, the more important thing in the resolution of the case and the avoidance of Google having to pay a monumental fine is that it clarifies the copyright rules on what developers are able to borrow for the software that they create.
Developers often utilize APIs from existing software to make sure that their own software is compatible with other products, or to make learning a new product easier. If Oracle had won the case, this practice would be stopped, and both veteran and novice developers would have a harder time creating the software that consumers use.
"Today's verdict that Android makes fair use of Java APIs represents a win for the Android ecosystem, for the Java programming community, and for software developers who rely on open and free programming languages to build innovative consumer products," said a spokesperson for Google.
Oracle, however, will appeal the decision, and so the issue does not end here. According to Dorian Daley, general counsel for Oracle, the company still believes that the development of Android was done through the illegal copying of core technology found in Java, and that there are several grounds to base its appeal on.
