Software Apocalypse And $9B Fine Avoided With ‘Google’s’ Win Over ‘Oracle’

In the latest legal dispute between “Google” and software company “Oracle,” the $9 billion fine that “Google” would have had to pay was not the only thing at stake. Had “Oracle” won, the software development industry would have likely been turned on its head as software developers scrambled to stop using the Application Programming Interfaces (API) that the majority is using as a standard.

As tech site Gizmodo explained it, API is a set of codes that allows owners of modern devices to use applications on said devices. Whenever a command is given via clicks, an API responds and activates said application. Since there are so many applications in so many devices all across the world, most software developers decided to use a standard API for the sake of uniformity. Unfortunately, “Oracle” holds the rights for said API when it bought Sun Microsystems for $7.4 billion, and its use by “Google” is the reason for the legal battle.

“Oracle” is arguing that “Google” violated copyright laws by incorporating their API in the development of the “Android” Operating System (OS). In their most recent bout, a jury ruled that what “Google” did fell under Fair Use, which means that they cannot be legally held accountable.

A New York Times piece notes the relief that software developers felt over the ruling, with a director of copyright activism for a group advocating for digital rights saying that this a positive step towards innovation.

“It does give a lot of breathing room to other companies and individuals trying to do a lot of innovative activity,” Parker Higgins of the Electronic Frontier Foundation said.

The piece also highlights the importance in having a clearer distinction regarding the matter of using “open-source” software. Technically speaking, these kinds of software could be used by anyone to make anything with one of the conditions being that they share their creations as well.