A clash between tech behemoths Google, LLC and Oracle America, Inc. ended Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Google’s copying of 11,500 lines of Oracle’s code for the Android software platform was permitted under the copyright law’s “fair use” defense.

The 6-2 ruling, written by Justice Stephen Breyer, reversed a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in a case that originated in federal court in San Francisco.

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Joe Dworetzky is a second career journalist. He practiced law in Philadelphia for more than 35 years, representing private and governmental clients in commercial litigation and insolvency proceedings. Joe served as City Solicitor for the City of Philadelphia under Mayor Ed Rendell and from 2009 to 2013 was one of five members of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission with responsibility for managing the city’s 250 public schools. He moved to San Francisco in 2011 and began writing fiction and pursuing a lifelong interest in editorial cartooning. Joe earned a Master’s in Journalism from Stanford University in 2020. He covers Legal Affairs and writes long form Investigative stories. His occasional cartooning can be seen in Bay Area Sketchbook. Joe encourages readers to email him story ideas and leads at joe.dworetzky@baycitynews.com.