Also ngl, is genuinely hilarious to me that so much of this multibillion dollar dispute ended up being over the reimplementation of java.lang.Math.max

— Pwn All The Things (@pwnallthethings) April 5, 2021

This is a very good thing for the industry. It’s not about Google vs. Oracle. It’s about how we protect interoperability. https://t.co/pT2vd1fPHz

— Sam Ramji (@sramji) April 5, 2021

Excellent news. Reimplementing APIs is an important part of software development. https://t.co/MTwCLYt8oK

— Martin Fowler (@martinfowler) April 5, 2021

Great news! Now we just need to get software patents thrown out and my preferred legal framework for software is in good shape ☺️ https://t.co/kiayVHL2RE pic.twitter.com/g7hYyArk3l

— Ben Thompson (@benthompson) April 5, 2021

I'm still going through this one. But that the high court decided this case on fair use grounds rather than the scope of copyright is a surprise — and one that Hollywood studios might not like one damn bit.

— Eriq Gardner (@eriqgardner) April 5, 2021

Maybe Oracle can appeal to the
International Court of Justice in The Hague?
↓ https://t.co/aw8wEegHTu

— Kontra (@counternotions) April 5, 2021

Huge win for fair use and people who understand how coding works! https://t.co/hy3zfId2Vv

— Tiffany C. Li (@tiffanycli) April 5, 2021

Six-justice majority opinion written by Breyer, one of the court's most dovish members on copyright issues. Dissent by Thomas and Alito. ACB didn't participate.

— Timothy B. Lee (@binarybits) April 5, 2021

Today's SCOTUS ruling about API interoperability and copyright is only scary if you're a shitty incumbent with shitty products using shitty lawyers to protect an unearned position in the market.

— David Ruddock (@RDRv3) April 5, 2021

Wow!

SCOTUS ruled that Google’s use of an API constitutes fair use.

Not every day you see a fair use case make it to SCOTUS, much less get decided in a sane way.

The copyright nerd in me is elated, this is an extremely good precedent. https://t.co/T7A607VA5B

— Maybe: Fred Benenson (@fredbenenson) April 5, 2021

Yes, I'm aware of the Google Oracle ruling. It's about damn time.

— Mike Masnick (@mmasnick) April 5, 2021

Amazing and so important https://t.co/8m1i89cx27

— Daphne Keller (@daphnehk) April 5, 2021

Worth reading the link - you only need to look at the first four pages, which set out that (1) the code is copyrightable, but (2) Google only used 0.4% of the whole for (3) a new purpose, which is thus allowed under “fair use” laws. https://t.co/ETorF5xuE4

— Charles Arthur (@charlesarthur) April 5, 2021

A decade long court battle between Google & Oracle has come to an end. Google won, and consumers could see greater innovation as a result... but if you’re a startup, there’s a chance a giant like Google could swoop in and copy your work without compensation. https://t.co/o0zzCLk0oJ

— Rebecca Jarvis (@RebeccaJarvis) April 5, 2021

API implementations might involve dozens of steps. (Narrator: some involve multiple billions of steps) pic.twitter.com/AKBjeiDExM

— Pwn All The Things (@pwnallthethings) April 5, 2021

What a sentence. https://t.co/GHG9Lm1gRQ pic.twitter.com/VfukRDmBk3

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) April 5, 2021

Using copyright to protect API functions is like using copyright to protect a recipe for roast chicken. It is fundamentally incompatible with the concept. It may be a truly great recipe, but the moment you publish it, you give up all meaningful protection for that formula.

— David Ruddock (@RDRv3) April 5, 2021

FOSS apocalypse averted. Google's team scores major win, although I have a funny feeling Oracle will find new ways to extort companies relying on its (acquired) tech wealth https://t.co/8Q5BxAhBMW

— Catalin Cimpanu (@campuscodi) April 5, 2021

So relieved that the US Supreme Court got this decision right: APIs can’t be copyrighted. This is a landmark decision for technological innovation. https://t.co/cRgxgIG29V

— Hadi Partovi (@hadip) April 5, 2021

This is exactly what happened. SCOTUS decided to answer the easy question rather than the hard question. But if the easy question (fair use) had gone against Google, the hard question (copyright) might have gone for it. Two ways to win, out of three paths. https://t.co/A455yJQrft

— Charles Arthur (@charlesarthur) April 5, 2021

Huge! SCOTUS rules 5-3 that Google's use of Oracle APIs was fair use

"taking only what was needed to allow users to
put their accrued talents to work in a new and transformative program"https://t.co/NbGfPsmMIQ pic.twitter.com/PNQC9FUCS8

— Jeff Roberts (@jeffjohnroberts) April 5, 2021

Terrible result for creators. It says someone can use a in itself copyrightable chunk of your work, to launch a product that directly competes with your copyright. It basically stretches fair use so that it negates the destroys derivative work right. https://t.co/Hl9vCNo21L

— David C Lowery (@davidclowery) April 5, 2021

Landmark decision for software interoperability. This is huge. https://t.co/wIdDY7PROX

— Jeff Seibert (@jeffseibert) April 5, 2021

The court finds that Google's use of the lines of code was "fair use" under the copyright laws. Justice Breyer delivered the opinion the of court joined by the Chief, Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh. Justice Thomas dissented and Alito joined. Barrett didn't participate.

— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) April 5, 2021

Thank you to the Supreme Court for saving all modern computing from an onslaught of copyright trolls. https://t.co/OnDzRCXdsq

— Alex Stamos (@alexstamos) April 5, 2021

Oracle spent millions of dollars arguing that a set of API functions was like sheet music: uniquely valuable specifically because of the way they were written and organized. This is, of course, nonsense to anyone who understands anything about computers.

— David Ruddock (@RDRv3) April 5, 2021

Hallelujah! The wrong decision here could have had a deeply chilling effect on Open Source. Oracle has been duplicitous AF on the subject of Open Java (actively lobbying for it when Sun was independent, then starting this suit soon after they bought Sun). Serves them right, IMHO https://t.co/JHzsaRQ9Ji

— Danese Cooper (@DivaDanese) April 5, 2021

IMO this was a good ruling. More, it was an obvious one to tech minded folks (though that doesn’t always bear out in law as we think it should) so thankful there too

My simple biz axiom: if your value is superficial, your moat is legal. If your value is deep, your moat is IP https://t.co/RjHo8aPZfx

— Jason Warner (@jasoncwarner) April 5, 2021

First (and *only*) merits decision from #SCOTUS today is Google v. Oracle:https://t.co/KtwWnZk6Us

For a 6-2 majority, Justice Breyer rules for Google (that copying Java SE API was fair use). Thomas and Alito dissent (Barrett wasn't on Court yet).

Still no ruling on the #ACA.

— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) April 5, 2021

I know lots of folks wanted a copyrightability decision from Google v Oracle but I will ABSOLUTELY take this STELLAR fair use decision that positively cites a bunch of Ninth Circuit reverse engineering case law.

— Kendra Albert (@KendraSerra) April 5, 2021

I am elated to announce that the Supreme Court ruled today that API reimplementation is fair use. This brings a ten year odyssey to an end. I'll have more to say later when I've had time to read the opinion.https://t.co/49CYTBkGHW

— Joshua Bloch (@joshbloch) April 5, 2021

BREAKING: In major copyright battle between tech giants, SCOTUS sides w/ Google over Oracle, finding that Google didnt commit copyright infringement when it reused lines of code in its Android operating system. The code came from Oracle's JAVA SE platform. https://t.co/vAK7jMPa8e

— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) April 5, 2021

I am on vacation but this is giant news: https://t.co/Akm4P1FUNe

— nilay patel (@reckless) April 5, 2021

thank u SCOTUS for not making me credit Archimedes for discovering π every time I make a bubble chart in Excel. https://t.co/lP7iHinwoW

— George Pearkes (@pearkes) April 5, 2021

I'm not an IP person, but it sure seems like #SCOTUS avoided the major question that the Google v. Oracle case was framed as presenting (whether and when software code is copyrightable) by relying on the fair use doctrine.

So it's a win for Google, but the big issue got punted. https://t.co/XsF6a5WKrX

— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) April 5, 2021

Oracle responds: "The Google platform just got bigger and market power greater. The barriers to entry higher and the ability to compete lower. They stole Java and spent a decade litigating as only a monopolist can."

— Brian Fung (@b_fung) April 5, 2021

A great Supreme Court ruling in favor of software interoperability and developer freedom!https://t.co/vG4SFg4Goe

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) April 5, 2021

The court avoided the more sweeping question of the case: whether Oracle's software code was worthy of copyright protection in the first place.

The court assumed it was protected "purely for argument's sake" but did not weigh in otherwise. pic.twitter.com/Yr5AA10OIy

— Bill Donahue (@Bill__Donahue) April 5, 2021

Larry Ellison sucked up to Trump for four years, came away from it with basically nothing, and now anyone can reimplement APIs under fair use laws.

I guess what I’d like to say about that is: LOL https://t.co/mXmBEdQ7Q8

— Casey Newton (@CaseyNewton) April 5, 2021

Important pro-innovation decision by #SCOTUS https://t.co/nbdeska9Em

— Albert Wenger ??⌛ (@albertwenger) April 5, 2021

Truly the world's most expensive conditional statement

— Pwn All The Things (@pwnallthethings) April 5, 2021

This Oracle quote doesn’t really fit reality, as the core of Android is (as Java was originally) open source, and being used to make cheaper and cheaper phones in China. https://t.co/tGF2GTeHKI

— Charles Arthur (@charlesarthur) April 5, 2021

breathing an enormous sigh of relief for the industry, yes, but more for the “implications of copyrightable APIs piece” i do not now have to write this week https://t.co/rFyFZdbZXR

— steve o'grady (@sogrady) April 5, 2021

Well, at least Oracle owns TikTok. Doesn’t it? https://t.co/85tF83zqVa

— Benedict Evans (@benedictevans) April 5, 2021

“Held: Google’s copying of the Java SE API, which included only those lines of code that were needed to allow programmers to put their accrued talents to work in a new and transformative program, was a fair use of that material as a matter of law.” https://t.co/O7q6bJ7mN8

— Kenn White (@kennwhite) April 5, 2021

Oracle's greed-driven dream of getting courts to grant it a new intellectual-property monopoly is officially dead, courtesy of a 6-2 Supreme Court ruling holding that Google reimplementing some of its Java SE APIs represents a fair use under copyright law. https://t.co/zIVjCDGB34

— Rob Pegoraro (@robpegoraro) April 5, 2021

The Supreme Court also rules that Google didn't infringe on Oracle's copyright when it copied APIs in order to build Android. The court holds in a 6-2 decision that the copying was fair use. https://t.co/JwG9kFMRGg

— Brian Fung (@b_fung) April 5, 2021

What a huge relief but note that it isn't a blanket approval for every reuse case. If ruled differently though, it would be the end of our industry as we know it. https://t.co/GGUW8s1Ou7

— Jaana Dogan ヤナ ドガン (@rakyll) April 5, 2021

Kudos to everyone in Google v Oracle. And big win for tech deciding that API reimplementation is fair use. But oh man, the description of what APIs actually are is a big pile of spaghettios

— Pwn All The Things (@pwnallthethings) April 5, 2021

The more I read in this decision, the more relieved I feel. I’m not a lawyer, but this is heartening:

“The upshot, in our view, is that fair use can play an important role in determining the lawful scope of a computer program copyright.”https://t.co/2FJa7wmIoZ

— Dieter Bohn (@backlon) April 5, 2021

A very good decision out of SCOTUS. https://t.co/b1Og6wTcKg

— Ben Adida (@benadida) April 5, 2021

Time to take this fight to a higher court: the Oracle Blockchain https://t.co/TmvN4KqMvr https://t.co/4w6hjd5cmb

— Gabe Rivera (@gaberivera) April 5, 2021

It's not often that I cheer on Google in legal matters, but hallelujah for this verdict. Making APIs copyrightable would have been a disaster. But also, what a disaster for the US legal system that this took OVER A DECADE to resolve. Original suit filed in August, 2010! https://t.co/0H0TRAhK2M

— DHH (@dhh) April 5, 2021