After more than four days of deliberation, the jury in the Oracle - Google lawsuit finally delivered a verdict on Monday, May 7.

The jury found that Google infringed Oracle's Java copyrights in creating the Android operating system, but it did not violate Oracle's Java documentation copyrights. The 12-member panel could not reach a unanimous decision on whether the infringement was protected by "fair use."

Google Moves for Mistrial

The verdict is only partial, as despite more than four days of deliberation, the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on whether Google's use of Oracle's APIs was defensible as fair use. Whether infringement is permissible as fair use or not depends on several factors: the purpose of the copying, the creativity of the copied work, the quality and quantity of copying, as well as how the copy affects the original on the market. In response to the mixed and incomplete verdict of the jury, Google moved for a mistrial. Judge William Alsup will consider Google's argument backing this motion later this week.

Next Round - Patent Phase

Oracle's two patent claims are yet to be considered, and the trial has now moved into the next phase - the patent phase. While Oracle initially sought as much as $1 billion in damages, now it seems unlikely to win more than $100 million, even if it does prevail in its patent claims. On Monday, after the jury found that Android infringes on nine lines of Java coding, an Oracle attorney suggested that this verdict on the nine lines of coding could be worth substantially more. Judge Alsup, however, dismissed the idea saying it "borders on the ridiculous." The amount of penalties imposed on Google will be discussed in the third phase of the trial, after the patent phase is completed.

Judge to Rule on Whether APIs Can be Copyrighted

Judge Alsup has also suggested he will rule on whether APIs are copyrightable if infringement has been found. Meanwhile, Google insists that APIs cannot be copyrighted. A recent European court ruling supports Google's claim. Last week, the EU Court of Justice ruled in the SAS Institute Inc. v. World Programming Ltd. that the functionality of computer program and the format of its data files are not expressive enough to deserve copyright protection.

Statements

"We appreciate the jury's efforts, and know that fair use and infringement are two sides of the same coin," said Google. "The core issue is whether the APIs here are copyrightable, and that's for the court to decide. We expect to prevail on this issue and Oracle's other claims."

Meanwhile, Oracle touted its mixed victory. "The overwhelming evidence demonstrated that Google knew it needed a license and that its unauthorized fork of Java in Android shattered Java's central write once run anywhere principle," said Oracle. "Every major commercial enterprise - except Google - has a license for Java and maintains compatibility to run across all computing platforms."

(reported by Alexandra Burlacu, edited by Dave Clark)