Is Copying Ever OK? Software Practices on Line in Copyright Case

The software industry’s ability to easily create new products that are compatible with existing ones hangs on the outcome of a closely watched federal court case.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will weigh whether copying bits of code from Oracle America Corp.'s Java programming language by Alphabet Inc.'s Google was a fair use under copyright law, or whether it infringed Oracle’s copyright to the tune of $9 billion. Fair use allows limited copying from protected works that would otherwise be infringing. Following a Dec. 7 oral argument, a ruling is likely in the first half of ...