U.S. Supreme Court Finds Google's Copying Of Oracle's Java API Code A Non-Infringing Fair Use

In Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc., Case No. 18–956, 593 U. S. ____ (2021), the U.S. Supreme Court held that Google's unauthorized copying of around 11,500 lines of Oracle's computer code was a fair use and therefore not an infringement.

Assuming, but expressly not deciding, that Oracle's copied Java SE program code was copyrightable, the Supreme Court reversed the Federal Circuit's most recent decision and held that Google's copying was a permissible fair use. The Supreme Court's decision placed particular emphasis on the nature of the copied code, which was part of a user interface and therefore "inherently bound together with" both the uncopyrightable idea of the interface's organization and Google's other, independently-created code for its Android platform for smartphones. The Supreme Court also held that Google's recontextualization of Java, which had been created for computers, in the smartphone environment was transformative and not a market substitute