Clarence Thomas
Role at the time: Associate justice writing a dissent, joined by Justice Alito
Condemned
Statement summary
Thomas, joined by Alito, argues that the code is copyrightable and that Google's copying was not fair use.
“Google’s use of that copyrighted code was anything but fair.”
Read the original text (opens in a new tab)Google LLC v. Oracle America: Supreme Court majority and dissentNo. 18-956; majority opening and conclusion; Thomas dissent pages 1-2 and 18-19
The Court assumes copyrightability for purposes of its analysis and holds that the particular copying was fair use. Thomas, joined by Alito, dissents.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
The reference is Google's copying. Thomas expressly rejects the justification and argues that the copying harmed the rights holder's market.