By Brent Kendall
WASHINGTON-- Google Inc. faces longer odds in convincing the
Supreme Court to intervene in a copyright battle with Oracle Corp.
after the Obama administration urged the justices not to hear the
case.
Oracle sued Google in 2010 and has sought more than $1 billion
in damages, alleging Google's Android smartphone operating system
infringed its copyrights on the Java platform, which it acquired
from Sun Microsystems the same year.
Google sought Supreme Court review last October after a federal
appeals court ruled for Oracle and held that 37 packages of
prewritten Java programs, known as application programming
interfaces, were entitled to copyright protection.
The justices in January asked the Obama administration to weigh
in, and U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli responded with a
brief this week, saying one of Google's key arguments against
copyrights on the Java packages "lacks merit." He argued the
Supreme Court should decline to consider the case, particularly
because it hasn't been fully resolved in the lower courts.
Mr. Verrilli's brief said Google had raised "important concerns
about the effects that enforcing [Oracle's] copyright could have on
software development," but he said those concerns could be
addressed through the doctrine of fair use, which allows for
copying in certain circumstances.
A Google spokesman said, "While we're disappointed, we look
forward to supporting the clear language of the law and defending
the concepts of interoperability that have traditionally
contributed to innovation in the software industry."
An Oracle spokeswoman said the company was pleased with the
government's recommendation, which "affirms the importance of
copyright protection as an incentive for software innovation."
Lower courts haven't yet resolved Google's arguments that its
alleged use of the Java packages was fair.
The Supreme Court doesn't always take the advice of the
solicitor general, but it normally gives the government's views
considerable weight in deciding how to proceed. The justices could
say in June whether they will hear the case.
Google wants the high court to hear the case and limit how
software makers can use copyright law to assert exclusive rights
over computer programs. It argues Oracle shouldn't be able to claim
copyrights on basic software commands.
Oracle says its code was original and highly creative and argues
Google plagiarized its work without permission. It told the Supreme
Court that Google's position would gut legal protections that are
crucial in the software industry.
Write to Brent Kendall at brent.kendall@wsj.com
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