Oracle claims a win in Google copyright case
A JURY yesterday found that Google infringed upon Oracle’s copyrights on the structure of part of the Java software programming language, in a high stakes trial over smartphone technology.
However, the jury failed to decide after days of deliberation whether Google had the right to fair use of that copyrighted structure.
The partial verdict was read in a San Francisco federal courtroom.
Despite finding Google infringed upon some of Oracle’s copyrights, the lack of a clear, full decision may represent a setback for Oracle. The US software company is trying to prove the internet search leader did not have a right to fair use of Java’s structural and organisational elements.
Google’s lawyers challenged the key jury decision on Java copyrights after yesterday’s verdict, moving for a mistrial.
Oracle sued Google in August 2010, saying its Android mobile operating system infringes on its intellectual property rights to the Java programming language. It is seeking around $1bn damages.