Google did not infringe Oracle’s copyright when it used that company’s programming code in the Android cellphone operating system, the Supreme Court ruled this morning overturning a lower court ruling that favored Oracle. Oracle had been seeking an estimated $9 billion in damages in the decade-old litigation between the tech companies that could have changed the rules of the road for the software industry. Justice Stephen Breyer wrote the 6-2 decision for the high court in Google LLC v. Oracle America Inc., court file 18-956. The case came to the court on appeal from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Justice Clarence Thomas filed a dissenting opinion that Justice Samuel Alito joined. Justice Amy Coney Barrett did not participate in the case. She was not yet a member of the court when the case was heard telephonically Oct. 7, 2020. Austin, Texas-based Oracle America Inc., is the …