The Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari in the decade-long battle between Google and Oracle over use of copyrighted pieces of Java software in the Android smartphone operating system. Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc., Case No. 18-956 (Supr Ct, Nov. 15 2019) (cert granted).

The dispute has been the subject of two prior decisions by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit: one regarding copyrightability of a software interface (IP Update Vol. 17) and the other regarding the fair use doctrine. In both instances, the Federal Circuit ruled in favor of Oracle.

The questions presented are:

• Whether copyright protection extends to a software interface

• Whether, as the jury found, petitioner’s use of a software interface in the context of creating a new computer program constitutes fair use.