Android Case a Victory for Compatible Software

A court ruled in favor of Google and its Android operating system in a copyright case. Android uses Java APIs in order to have compatibility with Java. A jury found that Google used the Java APIs just for the purposes of compatibility so that the copied APIs were fair use. Compatibility is explicitly permitted and encouraged by U.S. copyright law. The case is a victory for software developers who want to create compatible software. However, Oracle, the plaintiff in the case, has indicated that it will appeal.