Editing Java (programming language) (section)

==== Controversy ====
{{See also|Oracle America, Inc. v. Google, Inc.}}
The use of Java-related technology in Android led to a legal dispute between Oracle and Google. On May 7, 2012, a San Francisco jury found that if APIs could be copyrighted, then Google had infringed Oracle's copyrights by the use of Java in Android devices.<ref>{{cite web |last=Mullin |first=Joe |title=Google guilty of infringement in Oracle trial; future legal headaches loom |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/05/jury-rules-google-violated-copyright-law-google-moves-for-mistrial.ars |work=Law & Disorder |date=May 7, 2012 |publisher=Ars Technica |access-date=2012-05-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120508134916/http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/05/jury-rules-google-violated-copyright-law-google-moves-for-mistrial.ars |archive-date=May 8, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> District Judge [[William Alsup]] ruled on May 31, 2012, that APIs cannot be copyrighted,<ref>{{cite web
 |title=Google wins crucial API ruling, Oracle's case decimated
 |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech/2012/05/google-wins-crucial-api-ruling-oracles-case-decimated/
 |first=Joe
 |last=Mullin
 |work=Ars Technica
 |date=May 31, 2012
 |access-date=2012-06-01
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312065520/https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/05/google-wins-crucial-api-ruling-oracles-case-decimated/
 |archive-date=March 12, 2017
 |url-status=live
}}</ref> but this was reversed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in May 2014.<ref name="cnet appeals">{{cite news |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/court-sides-with-oracle-over-android-in-java-patent-appeal/ |title=Court sides with Oracle over Android in Java patent appeal |work=CNET |date=May 9, 2014 |access-date=2014-05-10 |author=Rosenblatt, Seth |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140510203805/http://www.cnet.com/news/court-sides-with-oracle-over-android-in-java-patent-appeal/ |archive-date=May 10, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> On May 26, 2016, the district court decided in favor of Google, ruling the copyright infringement of the Java API in Android constitutes fair use.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mullin |first1=Joe |title=Google beats Oracle—Android makes "fair use" of Java APIs |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/05/google-wins-trial-against-oracle-as-jury-finds-android-is-fair-use/ |access-date=2016-05-26 |website=Ars Technica |date=2016-05-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170120164551/http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/05/google-wins-trial-against-oracle-as-jury-finds-android-is-fair-use/ |archive-date=January 20, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> In March 2018, this ruling was overturned by the Appeals Court, which sent down the case of determining the damages to federal court in San Francisco.<ref>{{cite web
 |title="Google's use of the Java API packages was not fair," appeals court rules
 |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/03/googles-use-of-the-java-api-packages-was-not-fair-appeals-court-rules/
 |first=Cyrus
 |last=Farivar
 |work=Ars Technica
 |date=March 27, 2018
 |access-date=2019-08-06
 |archive-date=September 24, 2019
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924081919/https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/03/googles-use-of-the-java-api-packages-was-not-fair-appeals-court-rules/
 |url-status=live
}}</ref>
Google filed a petition for [[Certiorari|writ of certiorari]] with the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] in January 2019 to challenge the two rulings that were made by the Appeals Court in Oracle's favor.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/01/google-asks-supreme-court-to-overrule-disastrous-ruling-on-api-copyrights/ |title=Google asks Supreme Court to overrule disastrous ruling on API copyrights |first=Timothy |last=Lee |date=April 23, 2019 |access-date=April 23, 2019 |work=[[Ars Technica]] |archive-date=April 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423084450/https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/01/google-asks-supreme-court-to-overrule-disastrous-ruling-on-api-copyrights/ |url-status=live}}</ref> On April 5, 2021, the Court ruled 6–2 in Google's favor, that its use of Java APIs should be considered [[fair use]]. However, the court refused to rule on the copyrightability of APIs, choosing instead to determine their ruling by considering Java's API copyrightable "purely for argument's sake."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/18-956_d18f.pdf |title=''Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc'' 593 U. S. ____ (2021) |access-date=April 6, 2021 |archive-date=April 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210405140150/https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/18-956_d18f.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>