A US court has found that Google was within its rights to use Java code to build the Android operating system, in a case where Oracle is claiming up to $9-billion for Google’s use of the application development platform.
Although an earlier case ruled that Oracle did enjoy copyright protection for Java, Google successfully argued that it had used Java under an agreement with Sun Microsystems long before Oracle bought the platform.
Eric Schmidt, previously CEO of Google, said that Google and Sun had a clear understanding that it was alright to copy a series of “labels in the Java language.
Further, he argued that using the code was transformative, in that it made something completely new.
Oracle has said it will appeal the ruling, arguing the Google’s use of the code in Android was illegal, and that 3-billion phones have been activated with Oracle property inside.
