Even if you’re no fan of Google, you should be happy it won. Thanks to ten good citizens of a San Francisco jury, the tech world—and ultimately consumers—will be spared a legal nightmare that could have driven up the price of a wide range of software and devices.
This comes after the latest courtroom slugfest between Oracle (ORCL) and Google (GOOG) over who can control APIs, a basic tool that allows computer programs to talk to each other, and that are an essential building block of software development today.
The court fight ended on Thursday when a jury ruled that Google’s use of Java APIs was a fair use under copyright law, dashing Oracle’s hopes of collecting $9 billion in fees and damages:
That's all it took #googaclepic.twitter.com/NJ0gdXtCkQ
— James Niccolai (@jniccolai) May 26, 2016
News of the verdict spread quickly on Twitter:
"Oracle" is trending in San Francisco right now. 26.8k tweets.
— Parker Higgins (@xor) May 26, 2016
The tech community was quick to hail the verdict as good news:
APIs are not illegal! Yay! https://t.co/kbV01Nl7Nj
— Kurt Opsahl @kurt@mstdn.social (@kurtopsahl) May 26, 2016
BREAKING: Google win in Oracle v. Google. Victory for fair use!
— EFF (@EFF) May 26, 2016
The cause for celebration is the fair use finding, which does a lot to undo the damage from an appeals court ruling in 2014. That ruling, which overturned a judge’s finding that APIs cannot be copyrighted in the first place, triggered shock and disbelief among many in the tech community. They feared that giving Oracle rights to control the APIs would create a chilling effect as developers would be unsure about what they could and could not do to write code.
The concern deepened last year when the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal. But Thursday’s verdict means that, for now, the worst fears are lifted.
https://twitter.com/rachelking/status/735930289193553921
Of course, not everyone was happy about the outcome.
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https://twitter.com/rachelking/status/735930474342686720
Larry Ellison orders the yacht sails at half-mast.
— Dan Primack (@danprimack) May 26, 2016
https://twitter.com/JNGross/status/735925807160414208
This may not be the end, however. Oracle has already said it will keep fighting—and take the matter back to the court that set this all in motion in the first place.
This is the official Oracle comment on this case. pic.twitter.com/VkBhiCtwtv
— sarah jeong (@sarahjeong) May 26, 2016
Yes, Oracle's appeal of Google win will go to the Federal Circuit, but will it overturn jury verdict? https://t.co/VK5JwNgTK9
— Pamela Samuelson (@PamelaSamuelson) May 26, 2016
While there is a chance the appeals court will take the unusual step of overturning the jury verdict, the appeals process also offers another opportunity for the case to reach the Supreme Court—which could then clear up the copyright question once and for all. In the meantime, many tech types will go to bed happy.
Taylor Swift reacts to Oracle v. Google verdict. pic.twitter.com/eXCH6OpX4f
— Michael Barclay 🇺🇦 (@mbarc52) May 26, 2016