COTUS — Before it sued Google for copying from Java, Oracle got rich
copying IBM’s SQL Oracle's history highlights a possible downside to
its stance on API copyrights. TIMOTHY B. LEE - 3/10/2020, 11:21 AM
Before it sued Google for copying from Java, Oracle got rich copying
IBM’s SQL Enlarge Aurich Lawson / Getty 95
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FACEBOOK SHARE ON TWITTER Oracle v. Google Before it sued Google for
copying from Java, Oracle got rich copying IBM’s SQL Supreme Court
agrees to review disastrous ruling on API copyrights Google asks
Supreme Court to overrule disastrous ruling on API copyrights
“Google’s use of the Java API packages was not fair,” appeals court
rules Oracle refuses to accept pro-Google “fair use” verdict in API
battle View more stories More than a decade ago, Google re-implemented
the Java programming language as part of its new Android mobile
operating system. Oracle, the owner of Java, then sued Google for
copyright infringement in 2010. Later this month, the Supreme Court
will hear oral arguments in this epic copyright case that will have
huge implications for the entire software industry—and that could cost
Google billions of dollars.
Google says it has done nothing wrong. Copyright law specifically
excludes "systems" and "methods of operation" from copyright
protection. Google argues that the aspects of Java it copied—function
names, argument types, and so forth—fit squarely into these
exceptions. Google also argues that copyright's fair use doctrine
allows for this kind of copying.
The case is being closely watched by the software industry. Companies
like Microsoft and IBM have warned that Oracle's stance could create
chaos for the industry. They argue that making this kind of copying
illegal would not only create legal headaches for a lot of software
companies—it would be bad for customers, too.
Software companies copy software interfaces—known in industry jargon
as application programming interfaces (APIs)—of their competitors'
products all the time. This allows competing software products to be
interoperable so that a customer can take software designed to work on
one platform and re-use it on another. That means lower switching
costs for customers. It also means lower barriers for entry for
software startups, since it's easier to sell a new product if it's
compatible with a software product that customers already know and
trust.
If anyone should understand the importance of such copying, it's
Oracle. After all, Oracle got its start in the 1970s selling a
database product based on the then-new structured query language
(SQL). SQL was invented by IBM. And Oracle doesn't seem to have gotten
a license to use it.
Normal integration
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