Before it sued Google for copying from Java, Oracle got rich copying IBM’s SQL Oracle's history highlights a possible downside to its stance on API copyrights.

A U.S. judge has ruled that the Java application programming interfaces used in Android are not protected by copyright, marking a defeat for Oracle in its high-stakes lawsuit against Google.

The Supreme Court has sided with Google in the long-running Java API copyright case known as Oracle v. Google, finding that Google is legally entitled to use elements of Java APIs in its Android code.

Google countered that the Java language has always been "free and open" to use—and that included re-implementing Java APIs. Sun and its CEO Jonathan Schwartz accepted Android as a legitimate, if ...