U.S. Supreme Court Rules Google's Copying Of Oracle's Code Of Permissible "Fair Use"

The U.S. Supreme Court released a much-anticipated ruling in Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc., 593 U.S. ____ (2021) on 5 April 2021, ending the decade-long copyright battle between Google and Oracle, two of Silicon Valley's technology powerhouses. This ruling represents the first time that the Court tackled the fair use doctrine in the context of modern computer software. By a 6-2 vote, the Court sided with Google and held that Google's copying of Oracle's code was a permissible "fair use" under U.S. law.

Justice Breyer wrote the majority opinion, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh. Justice Thomas wrote the dissenting opinion, joined by Justice Alito. Justice Barrett, who was not yet confirmed when the case was heard in October 2020, did not participate.