The champagne is flowing at Google after it won a copyright case against Oracle that could have cost them US$9 billion in damages.

A jury ended years of wrangling between the two companies by declaring Google had used Oracle’s Java code in its OS under “fair use” provisions.

Google said the verdict represents a win for the Android ecosystem, for the Java programming community, and for software developers who rely on open and free programming languages to build innovative consumer products.

Oracle immediately said it would appeal the ruling. saying it strongly believed Google has developed Android by illegally copying core Java technology to rush into the mobile device market.