Earlier this month, the tech world was greeted with a final court decision that would affect the future of the current software world – Google had won its fair-use case against Oracle. And even though Oracle plans to appeal the case that could possibly win them $9 Billion, the programmers, angel investors, and engineers of the world breathe a sigh of relief and wipe the sweat off their foreheads as their expensive projects aren’t required to be built up from the ground again.
Firstly, we should discuss what this case is actually about. If you’re familiar with the tech scene, Silicon Valley (the tech hub, not the show), or how software is actually made, you’ve probably seen the results of this case everywhere. For the non-tech savvy, let me break it down for you: This case had to do with the use of the Java APIs, which are owned by Oracle, in Google’s Android OS. API stands for Application Programming Interface. It’s basically a way for different parts of an application to talk to each-other seamlessly. What Google did that pissed Oracle off so much is that they used Oracle’s Java APIs (APIs for the Java programming language) in their own Android mobile OS without licensing it from Oracle. When Oracle learned about this, they filed a lawsuit against Google, asking for $9 billion in reparations/possible lost profit from the partnership that should’ve happened between Google and Oracle.
Google could be in the right because, at this point in time, their interests collide with the interests of millions of programmers around the world. Google, in their current greed, have somewhat unintentionally argued for the main populace in the world of tech. Google secured the rights of programmers around the world to use the Java APIs almost however they please in their applications, that can push forward the innovations of the world that are only babes in the minds of men and women around the world. In the words of MAST student Tyler Nguyen: “Innovation is entirely dependent on the resources available to the creator. This is true of art, and of science.” That statement is insanely truthful, and Google has just given those valuable resources to creators around the world, free of charge.
Now, while Google did free these resources for use, they didn’t really do it for the people. They really did it for 2 reasons, the first being that they could get of a massive $9 billion charge. The second, according to The Guardian, is this: “Everyone who owns an Android smart phone makes copies of Android software every time the phones are switched on. Copyright law’s strict liability rule means that anyone who makes copies of infringing code can be held liable.” Now, this is huge. It says that if Oracle won, it could very possible sue any or all of the 1.4 billion people who have an android smartphone. Now, Oracle most likely will not do this, but it is a very scary possibility if Oracle had won.
In conclusion, Google acted on behalf of the people without really knowing it, and Oracle possible lost the rights to sue 1.4 billion people and $9 billion.
Case closed, right?
Well, who knows what might happen in the future? According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation “Oracle has announced that it will appeal.” Could this mean that Oracle may reverse the court’s decision? Who knows?
Only time will really tell.
Programming, Ascended 