Appeals Court Overturns Google's Fair Use Victory For Java APIs (Techdirt)

Posted Mar 27, 2018 23:01 UTC (Tue) by davidstrauss (guest, #85867)
In reply to: Appeals Court Overturns Google's Fair Use Victory For Java APIs (Techdirt) by davidstrauss
Parent article: Appeals Court Overturns Google's Fair Use Victory For Java APIs (Techdirt)

On further reading of the verdict, I'm more inclined to agree that this may open up Pandora's Box. It appears that the verdict treats the "declaring code" as the source of Oracle's copyright claim, and something like that is fairly likely to be registered (rather than documentation on the standards or APIs).

Appeals Court Overturns Google's Fair Use Victory For Java APIs (Techdirt)

Posted Mar 28, 2018 9:31 UTC (Wed) by anton (subscriber, #25547) [Link] (5 responses)

I think the main lever is not the damages that they can demand for past infringements, but the legal possibilities that the supposed copyright holder has for the future. In the present case Oracle could tax all Android phone makers, and maybe all app writers, and eventually all other industries where Java is used. That non-Oracle software represents an investment of billions of dollars, and if such a copyright actually exists in the USA, Oracle could make it mostly worthless there, if they wanted.

Appeals Court Overturns Google's Fair Use Victory For Java APIs (Techdirt)

Posted Mar 28, 2018 13:56 UTC (Wed) by Wol (subscriber, #4433) [Link] (4 responses)

All being well, IBM will sue Oracle for its use of the SQL API, and then I think the shit will *really* hit the fan ... :-)

Cheers,
Wol

Appeals Court Overturns Google's Fair Use Victory For Java APIs (Techdirt)

Posted Mar 29, 2018 8:36 UTC (Thu) by shiftee (subscriber, #110711) [Link] (3 responses)

Perhaps the biggest Mexican standoff in history

Appeals Court Overturns Google's Fair Use Victory For Java APIs (Techdirt)

Posted Mar 30, 2018 11:27 UTC (Fri) by Wol (subscriber, #4433) [Link] (2 responses)

How's this a Mexican Standoff?

If IBM win, Oracle are toast.

If IBM loses, we're back to the status quo ante (although if IBM don't include patents so it avoids the CAFC, it'll probably go to the Supreme Court as "a conflict between appeal courts").

Either way, Oracle loses, IBM is no worse off.

Cheers,
Wol

Appeals Court Overturns Google's Fair Use Victory For Java APIs (Techdirt)

Posted Mar 30, 2018 11:56 UTC (Fri) by shiftee (subscriber, #110711) [Link] (1 responses)

Until Intel sues IBM for using the x86 API. Then both of them are sued for using the POSIX API etc. etc. etc.

Appeals Court Overturns Google's Fair Use Victory For Java APIs (Techdirt)

Posted Mar 30, 2018 14:14 UTC (Fri) by khim (subscriber, #9252) [Link]

Intel couldn't sue IBM for use of x86 API. It used it in the past but under proper license and does not use it now.

Really, if this case would come to pass IBM would become the "endpoint" most likely: IBM did many things modern companies rave about when said companies didn't exist and their founders were in diapers!