A Google search page is reflected in sunglasses in this
photo illustration taken in Brussels May 30, 2014.
Google Inc has asked the U.S. Supreme
Court to wade into contentious litigation against Oracle
Corp, arguing that the high court must act to protect
innovation in high tech.
Google's request, filed on Monday, seeks to overturn an
appeals court ruling that found Oracle could copyright
parts of the Java programming language, which Google
used to design its Android smartphone operating
system.
Representatives for Oracle and Google could not
immediately comment on Wednesday.
Google's Android is the world's best-selling smartphone
platform. Oracle sued Google in 2010, claiming that
Google had improperly incorporated parts of Java into
Android. Oracle is seeking roughly $1 billion on its
copyright claims.
The case examined whether computer language that
connects programs - known as application
programming interfaces, or APIs - can be copyrighted.
At trial, Oracle said Google's Android trampled on its
rights to the structure of 37 Java APIs.
A San Francisco federal judge had decided that Oracle
could not claim copyright protection on parts of Java,
but earlier this year the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Federal Circuit in Washington disagreed.
In its filing this week, Google said the company would
never been able to innovate had the Federal Circuit's
reasoning been in place when the company was
formed.
"Early computer companies could have blocked vast
amounts of technological development by claiming 95-
year copyright monopolies over the basic building
blocks of computer design and programming," Google
wrote.
The case in the Supreme Court is Google Inc vs. Oracle
America Inc., 14-410.
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