SCOTUS Reverses Federal Circuit Finding Google's Android Platform Made Fair Use Of The Java API

After eleven years of litigation, two jury trials, and multiple appeals, on April 5, 2021, Google LLC prevailed in its defense of Oracle America, Inc.'s copyright infringement claims over Google's use of Java API declaring code in early versions of the Android smartphone platform. In a 6-2 decision (Justice Barrett did not take part in the consideration or decision of the case), the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Federal Circuit's ruling, sidestepping the question of whether Oracle's Java API was copyrightable, and finding that, even assuming that it was, Google's use of certain portions of that API constituted fair use under 17 U.S.C. § 107. 

The Majority Opinion

The majority opinion, penned by Justice Breyer, examined the four statutory fair use factors, but began with the rarely definitive second fair use factor—the nature of the work. In doing so, the Court distinguished between implementing code and declaring code, holding that declaring code “embodies