Following the jury’s inability to decide on the issue of fair use in the Oracle vs. Google trial, Oracle asked the judge to rule on the issue as a matter of law (JMOL). Both sides engaged in oral arguments, but Judge William Alsup surprised the courtroom with an early decision, denying Oracle’s request, saying that “it wouldn’t be fair” given the evidence introduced in the trial.

While the jury found that Google had infringed upon Oracle’s copyrights by using the sequence, structure, and organization (SSO) of the 37 Java APIs in question, it was deadlocked on whether Google was legally able to do so under fair use. Fair use is made up of four different components:

• The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of…

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