News Media Alliance chimes in on Google case

The News Media Alliance has filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in support of Oracle in the Google v. Oracle (docket no. 18-956) case concerning “Google’s unauthorized copying of parts of Oracle’s computer code when developing applications for the Android operating system,” according to the Alliance.

The Alliance brief rebuts Google’s argument that its use of Oracle’s code was justified under the four-part fair use test used by U.S. courts, drawing comparisons to what the News Media Alliance calls Google’s widespread and unauthorized use of news media content.

“There have to be limits to fair use, otherwise it will eat the world,” said Alliance Senior Vice President and General Counsel Danielle Coffey. “For the last decade, sweeping exemptions have allowed Google to defend against almost any reproduction of quality content, including journalism, which requires tremendous investment that goes unrecovered when misappropriated. Like news publishers, companies like Oracle depend on robust copyright protections that promote innovation and creativity in the online ecosystem, and we must stand together against such blatant misrepresentations of law and abuses of market power.”

Google appealed the case to the Supreme Court in January 2019 after two decisions by the U.S. Court for the Federal Circuit held that Oracle’s code was copyrightable and that Google’s use was not fair use under the Copyright Act. The Supreme Court accepted the case in November 2019.

The Alliance is asking that the Supreme Court affirm the federal circuit’s decisions.

The case is scheduled for a hearing on March 24.

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