On October 7, the Supreme Court finally heard oral arguments in the decade-long copyright software slugfest Google v. Oracle. Thomas Goldstein represented Google, Joshua Rosenkranz represented Oracle, and Deputy Solicitor General Malcom Stewart represented the United States as amicus curiae in support of Oracle. The major arguments discussed were the following:  whether the Java declaring code Google copied into the ...

While reading a few other articles about this case, articles written by actual legal experts, I was reminded that Google v. Oracle, despite its epic scale and likely significance as a precedential ruling, is, in fact, not terribly complicated. At least it shouldn’t be. What has made the case complicated of course is Google’s obfuscation in an attempt to win. ...

I share the sorrow of millions at the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The world has lost a genius of the law, who, in addition to her immeasurable contributions to American justice, was a great lover of the arts and a true champion of the rights of creators. My deepest condolences to her family, colleagues, and friends. In my ...

Soon after the pandemic forced the Supreme Court to delay proceedings in Google v. Oracle, it directed the parties to “file supplemental letter briefs addressing the appropriate standard of review” with respect to the Federal Circuit’s decision in 2018, concluding that no reasonable jury could find that Google’s copying to create Android was fair use. On August 7, both parties ...

Google and its supporting amici rely substantially on painting a landscape of a contemporary software industry that is highly dependent on what they describe as “reimplementation” of certain types of computer code. Specifically, Google maintains, that the “declaring code” they copied for the production of the Android platform is so exemplary of standard practice that Oracle’s claim of infringement threatens ...

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