Google seeks judicial review over Java APIs case with Oracle

Google asks court for clarification over Java API ruling that could affect the global software industry

Google has written to the Supreme Court asking for clarification over last year's software APIs copyright ruling. The company has used a legal mechanism called ‘certiorari', a process for seeking judicial review.

Google has been locked in a dispute with Oracle over the internet giant's use of Java APIs in the Dalvik process virtual machine, which used to be part of Android and which enabled apps to be executed on the platform.

Oracle claimed that the Java APIs, which it acquired when it purchased Sun Microsystems in 2010, are an integral part of the Java intellectual property that it now owns. Google counter-claimed that APIs cannot and should not be subject to copyright, and that its use of the Java APIs and documentation for Dalvik were covered under ‘fair use'.

Unless the Supreme Court steps in here, the industry will be hamstrung

The dispute goes back almost nine years, with the first case being heard in August 2010, but despite a court loss last year Google still isn't giving up. The case, following years of appeals, is now at the US Supreme Court.

In a blog post, Google's chief legal officer Kent Walker wrote: "Standardized software interfaces have driven innovation in software development. They let computer programs interact with each other and let developers easily build technologies for different platforms.

"Unless the Supreme Court steps in here, the industry will be hamstrung by court decisions finding that the use of software interfaces in creating new programs is not allowed under copyright law."

Across the computer industry, it has been claimed that open source software, in particular, will be damaged if the Java APIs ruling is allowed to stand.

The fabricated concern about innovation hides Google's true concern: that it be allowed the unfettered ability to copy the original and valuable work of others

The use of APIs enables different applications to interoperate - Linux, cloud services, smart televisions and other services and devices reliant on open-source software would be hamstrung if dominant companies were able to demand payment for API use.

Oracle has already responded in the pugnacious manner characteristic of its founder and executive chairman Larry Ellison: "Google's petition for certiorari presents a rehash of arguments that have already been thoughtfully and thoroughly discredited.

"The fabricated concern about innovation hides Google's true concern: that it be allowed the unfettered ability to copy the original and valuable work of others for substantial financial gain.

"In major victories for software innovation, the Court of Appeals has twice sided with Oracle against Google. The Supreme Court should once again deny Google's request to take the case."