Google vs. Oracle: The next chapter
Summary
Ten years ago, Oracle, desperate to monetize its failed Sun purchase, sued Google to squeeze profits out of its use of Java APIs in Android. University of South Carolina Intellectual property (IP) law professor Ned Snow pointed out the federal circuit courts ruling, which had awarded victory to Oracle, violated the Constitutions Seventh Amendment. As Uri Sarid, software integration company MuleSofts CTO, wrote about this case several years ago, "APIs are quite utilitarian, like an ATM machines operation: Slide your card here, punch your code there, select from a menu, and expect cash in return. " Another IP attorney commented, "It was extraordinary that the federal circuit intervened to overturn a jury verdict that was a mixed question of law and fact (fair use). As Charles Duan, the director of Technology and Innovation Policy at the R Street Institute, a Washington DC non-profit think tank and Google ally, recently argued: Oracle itself is guilty of copying Amazons S3 APIs.
