By Brent Kendall
The Supreme Court on Wednesday considered a multibillion-dollar
copyright battle between Oracle Corp. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google,
with justices appearing to look for a resolution that would retain
legal protections for software code without throwing the tech
industry into disarray.
The decade-old case centers on Oracle's allegations that
Google's Android smartphone-operating system infringed on
copyrights related to Oracle's Java platform, which Oracle acquired
when it bought Sun Microsystems Inc. in 2010.
During about 90 minutes of oral arguments, the justices
considered issues related to how software developers use
application-program interfaces, or APIs -- prewritten packages of
computer code that allow programs, websites or apps to talk to one
another.
Oracle has accused Google of illegally copying more than 11,000
lines of Java API code to develop its Android operating system,
which runs more than two billion mobile devices world-wide.
Google's unlicensed use of that code is no better than "if
someone wanted to write a book that reproduced the 11,000 best
lines of 'Seinfeld'," Oracle lawyer Joshua Rosenkranz told the
court.
Mr. Rosenkranz said Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. spent
billions developing their platform code, and Google should have
done so as well. "The Copyright Act does not give Google a pass
just because it would be expensive to re-create our expression," he
said.
Oracle previously sought as much as $9 billion in damages from
Google, though that request is now several years old and is likely
to increase if Oracle wins at the high court.
Google lawyer Thomas Goldstein told the court that copyright
protections aren't supposed to extend to basic computer code that
relates to how software functions. The effect of Oracle's proposed
rule "would be to make the creation of innovative computer programs
less efficient," he said.
"The long-settled practice of reusing software interfaces is
critical to modern interoperable computer software," Mr. Goldstein
said. Oracle, he said, was seeking to keep software developers
"prisoners" of the Java platform and attempting to "block the
publication of millions of programs on an innovative smartphone
platform."
Several justices voiced resistance to Google's arguments.
"Cracking the safe may be the only way to get the money that you
want, but that doesn't mean you can do it," Chief Justice John
Roberts told Mr. Goldstein. If Oracle has the only way to get in,
"the way for you to get it is to get a license," the chief justice
said.
Mr. Goldstein responded that if Oracle wrote a book about how to
crack safes, that wouldn't give the company the exclusive right to
open them.
Justice Clarence Thomas had a different analogy, wondering
whether Google's position was like using an opposing football
team's playbook. Justice Samuel Alito, meanwhile, said that under
Google's arguments, "all computer code is at risk of losing
protection."
The court, however, also wondered what a win for Oracle would do
to a tech world in which developers build new applications that use
others' APIs to make their products work. Justice Sonia Sotomayor
said Google used less than 1% of the Java code. Justice Stephen
Breyer questioned whether Oracle's APIs were like the QWERTY
keyboard.
"If you let somebody have a copyright on that now, they would
control all typewriters, which really has nothing to do with
copyright," Justice Breyer said.
Mr. Rosenkranz said the keyboard was "purely mechanical," not a
creative expression like how Oracle wrote its code. "The software
industry rose to world dominance since the 1980s because of
copyright protection, not unlicensed copying," he said.
The case has attracted widespread attention in tech circles and
beyond. Businesses that rely heavily on copyright protections,
including in the movie, music and publishing industries, are
supporting Oracle, expressing concerns about Google's claims to
fair use of content created by others.
Software makers including Microsoft and a leading association of
internet companies are supporting Google, saying copyright law must
allow some fair use of computer programs to promote follow-on
technologies and interoperability between programs.
The Trump administration is supporting Oracle in the case.
Justice Department lawyer Malcolm Stewart told the justices that
copyright protections provide incentives for companies to invest in
developing new code. The tech industry wouldn't face ruin if Google
loses, he said.
Google and Oracle had to wait longer than expected for the
Supreme Court's consideration: The justices were supposed to hear
the case in March, but postponed it when they adjusted their
schedule because of the coronavirus pandemic.
A decision is expected by June.
Write to Brent Kendall at brent.kendall@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 07, 2020 18:27 ET (22:27 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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