Google LLC v. Oracle America Inc.
141 S. Ct. 1163 · Decided April 5, 2021 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
Google LLC v. Oracle America Inc. was decided on April 5, 2021 by a vote of 6–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Copyrights” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
- CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
- Supreme Court of the United States — slip opinions, October Term 2020
- Supreme Court of the United States — docket 18-956
Case details
- Citations
- 141 S. Ct. 1163 · 209 L. Ed. 2d 311 · 2021 U.S. LEXIS 1864
- Docket number
- 18-956
- Decided
- April 5, 2021
- Argued
- October 7, 2020
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–2
- Majority opinion
- Stephen G. Breyer
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Copyrights
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- 17 U.S.C. 107
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Dissent | |
| Justice Sonia Sotomayor | Majority | |
| Justice Elena Kagan | Majority | |
| Justice Neil M. Gorsuch | Majority | |
| Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh | Majority |
Did not participate: Amy Coney Barrett.
Full case caption
Google LLC v. Oracle America Inc.
SCDB identifiers: case 2020-006, docket 2020-006-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Copyrights”
- Unicolors, Inc v. H&m Hennes & Mauritz, Lp
- Georgia v. Public.resource.org Inc.
- Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com
- Rimini Street Inc. v. Oracle USA Inc.
- Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts v. Goldsmith
- Warner Chappell Music v. Neal
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- City of Chicago v. Fulton
- Republic of Hungary v. Simon
- Federal Republic of Germany v. Philipp
- Brownback v. King
- Facebook Inc. v. Duguid
- Federal Communications Commission v. Prometheus Radio Project
Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error