Legal battle centers around copyright issues

A jury at the US District Court of Northern California has determined that Google has not infringed on six claims contained in two Oracle patents. The unanimous decision is viewed as a partial win for the search giant, however the company still faces potential damages in an earlier verdict that focused on copyright violations for a number of Java APIs.

Judge William Alsup subsequently dismissed the jurors from the proceedings, as a jury is no longer needed to determine damages until issues surrounding the Java API copyright violations have been decided. The judge also noted that the case was the longest civil trial that he had participated in.

"Today's jury verdict that Android does not infringe Oracle's patents was a victory not just for Google but the entire Android ecosystem," Google said in a statement.

"Oracle presented overwhelming evidence at trial that Google knew it would fragment and damage Java," Oracle countered in its own statement. "We plan to continue to defend and uphold Java's core write once run anywhere principle and ensure it is protected for the nine million Java developers and the community that depend on Java compatibility."

Judge Alsup has yet to make a final decision regarding whether the Java APIs can be covered by extensive copyright protections or fall within "fair use" guidelines. [via Florian Mueller]

By Electronista Staff

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