Google did not unfairly appropriate Java code

The outcome of big case was eagerly awaited by software developers who dreaded more such legal actions if Oracle were to emerge victorious.

Oracle had argued that Google had infringed its copyright and had sought around €8 billion in damages.

The legal battle began in 2010 and the two firms first faced each other in court in May 2012. A federal judge ruled against Oracle, but the company then appealed. After legal wrangling, the case was sent back to court.

Despite the case’s outcome on Thursday, Oracle lawyer Dorian Daley said the company would pursue the matter further and appeal once again, according to the BBC.

"We strongly believe that Google developed Android by illegally copying core Java technology to rush into the mobile device market," he said.

"Oracle brought this lawsuit to put a stop to Google's illegal behaviour. We believe there are numerous grounds for appeal and we plan to bring this case back to the federal circuit on appeal."

Google uses Java in its Android smartphone operating system, which powers about 80% of the world's mobile devices.

The company had argued that extending copyright protection to pieces of code called APIs (application programming interfaces) would threaten innovation.

The jury ruled in favour of Google as it agreed that copyright law allowed fair use of the Java elements as the codes were only a part of a larger system Google had created for a new purpose.