Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc.

To the extent that computer interface code is copyrightable, the copying of a small portion of that code to transform it into a mobile operating system is fair use.

Petitioner and Respondent litigated a copyright dispute over the use of Java code, owned and copyrighted by Respondent, and Android, owned by Petitioner. At trial, the jury permitted the copying, and concluded that fair use applied. On appeal, the Federal Circuit reversed and remanded to the trial court for a damages award in Respondent’s favor. The Supreme Court granted cert and Petitioner argued the API declaring code was uncopyrightable “process[es],” “system[s],” and “method[s].” Additionally, Petitioner argued that even if APIs are protected under the Copyright Act, an indexing code comprising roughly 11,000 lines, constitutes fair use. The Court reversed the Federal Circuit and held that Petitioner’s copying of the API was fair use as a matter of law. The Court reasoned that given the factors considered for a fair use analysis, Petitioner only took what was necessary to allow programmers to perform their function using Respondent’s Java language. First, because Petitioner only copied a very small portion of the total API, that weighed in favor of fair use. Second, because the API was primarily concerned with functionality, the actual text of the code was "inherently bound together with uncopyrightable ideas." Therefore, Petitioner’s use of the API code did not undermine the overall purpose of copyright law because copyright law does not protect abstract ideas. Finally, the "effect" of the copying on the market was small because Petitioner’s Android platform cannot replace Respondent’s Java. REVERSED and REMANDED.