Oracle’s patents have not been breached by Google’s Android mobile OS, according to the jury sitting on the case in America.
The two companies have been at loggerheads regarding Android for several years and Oracle had been hoping to be awarded $1 billion worth of damages.
Oracle was claiming Android was built using its Java programming language but Google’s defence highlighted that Java is not entirely copyrightable as it is an open source publically available platform.
The jury did agree that Google had infringed on 37 copyrighted APIs but it also said it believed Google did not realise it was doing so.
The decision effectively draws a line under the argument and should silence doomsayers in the media predicting Android’s demise.
It’s not all bad news for Oracale though, as it just announced the acquisition of social media marketing firm Vitrue for $300 million.