Google confirms next Android version won't implement Oracle's proprietary Java APIs
http://venturebeat.com/2015/12/29/google-confirms-next-android-version-wont-use-oracles-proprietary-java-apis/ Hacker News users are rightly wondering whether the code commit means the legal dispute between Oracle and Google has been settled out of court, or whether Google has decided to protect itself with regards to future Android versions in the event it loses. It's a good question, but because the Oracle lawsuit is ongoing, Google declined to comment whether this code commit is related. After acquiring Sun in January 2010, Oracle sued Google for copyright and patent infringement in August 2010, arguing that Android cannot use Java's APIs without permission. Google countered by declaring that APIs can't be copyrighted as they are essential to software development, collaboration, and innovation. In May 2012, a jury found that Google did not infringe on Oracle's patents, saying that Java's APIs can't be copyrighted. In May 2014, the Federal Circuit partially reversed the district court decision, ruling in Oracle's favor: Java's APIs can be copyrighted. In June 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case and sent it back to a lower court so Google could argue that it made fair use of Oracle's copyrighted APIs. Is it just a coincidence that after all this back and forth, Google has decided to completely embrace OpenJDK? Unlikely, but the end result is what matters: Future versions of Android will be based on OpenJDK, not Oracle's proprietary JDK version. - - - Fascinating in so many ways. --Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein ([email protected]): http://www.vortex.com/lauren Founder: - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com Google+: http://google.com/+LaurenWeinstein Twitter: http://twitter.com/laurenweinstein Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com I have consulted to Google, but I am not currently doing so -- my opinions expressed here are mine alone. _______________________________________________ pfir mailing list http://lists.pfir.org/mailman/listinfo/pfir
