The high profile litigation on copyright protection over Java Programming Language between the two stalwarts of the technology world, Google Inc. (GOOG, Financial) and Oracle (ORCL, Financial), is gearing up for the final judgment in June ending with the U.S. Supreme Court asking the Obama administration for advice in January 15 which is due by the end of May. Presentations by the legal experts from both parties to the government officials at the Department of Justice conference rooms in the month of March, attracted wide audience and sources reveal that different agencies within the government are divided in their opinion in this monumental decision, which may potentially alter the dynamics of the technology industry.
The proceedings so far
Java ,a versatile programing language was initially developed in 1991 by Sun Microsystems which was, after an inconclusive partnership deal with the American multinational IT giant, Google, acquired by Oracle America Inc., an equally prominent computer technology corporation in 2010. Within this period, Google had taken over the makers of the most popular mobile platform Android Inc. in 2005.With the verbal support of the then Sun CEO, Google developed and released its Java supported Android operating system for mobiles in 2007. Google continued innovations in Android with self-developed Java APIs while Oracle, after taking over Sun Microsystems, took control of Java and its development. In August 2010, Oracle took legal action against Google suing it over copyright and patent infringements issues for improper usage of Java in its applications without any official licensing deal. The copyright claim is worth a staggering $1 billion.
The initial hearing in the San Francisco federal court supported Google’s defense based on free-to-use resources for innovation and growth while the appeals court in May 2014 reversed the earlier ruling of May 2012, favoring the copyright claims of Oracle. Google needs the free and fair use of Java technology to sustain and advance Android, the most successful smartphone operating system, and filed an appeal in the U.S. Supreme Court in October 2014. The nine justices of the esteemed court have requested for the valued opinion of the U.S. Solicitor General in the resolution of this high profile dispute which has generated a strong interest worldwide as well as within the federal government.
The official stands
Google stands firm that a victory for Oracle will limit the free and fair usage of this high potential technology possibly curbing tremendous amounts of future innovations in software development. Oracle opposes this claim for free usage stating that copyright protection of this highly advantageous resource will effectively facilitate proper software innovation.
Like the technology world, officials within the U.S. administration are also reported to be divided in opinion on this volatile issue including the validity of copyrights on a programming language that integrates applications and extent of such licensing protection. Legal groups supporting Google have met Federal Trade Commission executives and officials of the antitrust division at the U.S. Department of Justice to gain support against a possible monopoly by Oracle on the software. The pro-copyright division of the Library of Congress, U.S. Copyright Office, is likely to support Oracle’s claims while it has been reported that the technology advisers of Obama are supporting a pro-Google stance.
With other technology majors like Yahoo! (YHOO, Financial) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, Financial) extending legal support to Google’s fight, the internal debates among federal agencies is heating up for a formal decision in the coming weeks.
