• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, December 30, 2015

Google will switch to OpenJDK, an open-source version of Oracle's own Java Development Kit, confirming that it will no longer use Oracle’s Java application programming interface (API).

Android runs apps written in Java. Google will simplify app development by creating a common codebase for Java.

The decision ends a copyright dispute between Google and Oracle that began in 2010. Oracle accused Google of using its Java API without permission. Google argued that the APIs couldn’t be copyrighted because they are used for software innovation. 

The disagreement created a big mess in court. A jury in 2012 found that Google didn't infringe Oracle's copyright but a Federal court reversed part of the decision in 2014. The U.S. Supreme court in June 2015 sent it back to a lower court, where it currently sits.

Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems in 2010, and along with it took ownership of Java. “By moving to OpenJDK, Google is still using the APIs that Oracle threw a fit over -- it's just now, amusingly, using Oracle's GNU GPL licensed code,” reports the Register.