For almost seven years, Oracle has been pursuing legal action against Google, in an effort to claim damages from the company over its unlicensed usage of Java components in the Android operating system. Google hasn"t denied that it used Java software in Android, but it has maintained that it did so without violating any intellectual property laws.
Last year, a court found that Google"s use of Java APIs in Android constituted "fair use", which the company hailed as "a win for the Android ecosystem, for the Java programming community, and for software developers who rely on open and free programming languages to build innovative consumer products."
Unsurprisingly, Oracle was rather less convinced by that ruling, insisting that Google had "developed Android by illegally copying core Java technology to rush into the mobile device market". It vowed "to bring this case back to the Federal Circuit on appeal."
True to its word, Oracle has now done exactly that, filing with the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Friday, seeking to overturn last year"s "fair use" jury verdict.
In its filing, Oracle referred to the integration of its Java APIs by Google as "classic unfair use". Last July, it referred to case law claiming that where a company "exclusively acquires conspicuous financial rewards" from the use of another company"s IP, fair use considerations do not apply.
Oracle said in its 155-page appeal on Friday that "Google reaped billions of dollars while leaving Oracle"s Java business in tatters."
Source: The Wall Street Journal (Paywall)