Oracle and Google Seek To Appeal Java Ruling

There’s a long-running battle over whether or not Google infringed upon Oracle’s intellectual rights when they developed and released the Android operating system. According to Oracle, Google used large chunks of their Java code to create their mobile Android operating system. As a result of these claims, Oracle filed a lawsuit against Google back in 2010 claiming the search engine giant stole their copyrighted content and used to build their mobile operating system. After much deliberation, a federal jury handed down a partial verdict in May stating that Google did infringe on Oracle’s copyright by using 9 codes found within the Java system; however, the search engine giant did not in fact infringe upon Oracle’s patent. As a result of this ruling, both Oracle and Google are seeking an appeal.

Something else that’s important to note regarding the federal jury’s decision in May is whether or not Google’s actions were under the “fair use” policy. If they were, then Google shouldn’t be required to compensate Oracle for monetary damages. On the other hand, if their actions weren’t considered “fair use,” then Google would likely be required to pay a hefty fee. When all was said and done, the federal jury ordered Oracle to pay for Google’s legal fees, while Google wasn’t ordered to pay anything.

You might be wondering just why in the world both Google and Oracle are seeking to appeal the recent jury ruling over the Java coding. Well, no one knows for sure what these two powerhouse companies are thinking, but they are both trying to protect their intellectual rights of some very powerful software. Currently, Android is one of the most popular operating systems on smart phones with millions of users around the world. On the other hand, Java is one of the most widely used programming languages found on the web. If a federal jury rules that Google used patented software to develop their Android operating system, they may be required to drastically change some of the coding, which could affect millions of smart phone users. As you can see, it’s in the best interests of both companies to protect the rights of their software.

We’ll have to wait and see how the appeal plays out, but don’t hold your breathe for a fast appeal. The original ruling took well over a year and millions of dollars in lawyers and legal fees, so the appeal is sure to eat up an equal amount of time and money.