Oracle Wins (Tiny) Battle in War With Google

Oracle scored a victory on Friday in its ongoing battle with Google over the use of Java on the Android mobile operating system. But it was a very small victory.
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Oracle scored a victory on Friday in its ongoing battle with Google over the use of Java on the Android mobile operating system. But it was a very small victory.

Judge William Alsup ruled that evidence presented during the trial had shown that Google infringed on Oracle's copyrights by decompiling eight Java files and copying them in their entirety for use with Android.

Previously, the jury in the case decided that Google had not infringed with its use of these eight files.

Last week, Oracle filed an extensive brief (.pdf) arguing that Google’s use of the eight decompiled files -- source code in seven "Impl.java" files and the one "ACL" file -- could not be considered "de minimis," or insignificant. Oracle also noted that Google did not dispute that the files were copied.

"When compared on a file-to-file basis (per the Court’s jury instructions), it is clear that Google’s copying of the eight files was not de minimis," read the brief by Oracle lead counsel Mike Jacobs. "Google copied each entire file, so by definition, the copying is both quantitatively and qualitatively significant."

With his ruling, Judge Alsup agreed. "No reasonable jury could find that this copying was de minimis," he wrote.

In 2010, after acquiring Sun Microsystems, the maker of the Java programming language, Oracle sued Google, claiming that the search giant violated Sun copyrights and patents in building a new version of the Java platform for its Android mobile operating system. The trial -- which began on April 16 -- was divided into three phases: one that would address the copyright claims, one for the patent claims, and one for damages.

During the copyright phase, the jury was unable to decide whether Google went beyond fair use in mimicking 37 Java APIs, or application programming interfaces, and this is the most important question in the case. But Oracle now has two small victories. In addition to Alsup's ruling on the eight copied files, the jury decided that Google infringed in lifting nine other lines of Java code involving the TimSort.java and ComparableTimSort.Jav files.

Judge Alsup has yet to rule on the API question, and this still looms large over the trial. He has also yet to rule on Google's motion for a mistrial. The search giant argues that the jury's partial verdict cannot stand, citing the Seventh Amendment and settled Supreme Court law.

The ongoing patent phase of the trial has been whittled down to just a pair of patents. And on Friday, the two sides argued over whether the damages phase should proceed given that the jury was unable to decide on the API fair use issue. But apparently, Judge Alsup will let this go ahead.