Authorities
Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc.
Google v. Oracle (2021): reimplementing an interface can be fair use.
Citation: Google LLC v. Oracle Am., Inc., 593 U.S. 1 (2021)
Type: Case
Jurisdiction: Federal
Issuing body: Supreme Court of the United States
Status: Decided
Court: Supreme Court of the United States
Parties: Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc.
Proceeding: court decision
Reimplementing an interface so that programmers can use familiar commands can be fair use, as the Supreme Court held for Google's use of Java's declaring code. The decision is also the authority the guides cite for the nature-of-the-work factor: creative works receive more protection than factual or functional ones, and fair use is a question of law reviewed de novo on appeal.
Related guides.
- Defenses in Copyright Cases
- Software, Website, and Digital Content Disputes
- Appeals in Copyright Cases
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