Oracle Loses a Court Battle But Keeps Fighting the Google War

The U.S. Supreme Court dealt Oracle Corp. a brutal defeat on April 5, ruling that Google hadn’t violated Oracle’s copyright when it used its Java programming language to develop the Android operating system. The dispute had been going on for a decade, with monumental financial stakes. By siding with Alphabet Inc.’s Google, the court reversed a ruling that could have allowed Oracle to collect about $9 billion in damages. Instead it’s coming away with nothing.

Company executives immediately shrugged off the loss, saying Oracle has other ways to keep pressuring the company it sees as its main rival. “I’ve ...