Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/20pdf/18-956_d18f.pdf
Page Number: 58

Cite as:  593 U. S. ____ (2021) 

15 

THOMAS, J., dissenting 

C.  The Purpose and Character of the Use 
The  second-most  important  factor—“the  purpose  and
character of the use, including whether such use is of a com-
mercial  nature  or  is  for  nonprofit  educational  purposes,”
§107(1)—requires us to consider whether use was “commer-
cial” and whether it was “transformative.”  Campbell, 510 
U. S., at 578–579.  Both aspects heavily favor Oracle.

Begin  with  the  overwhelming  commercial  nature  of 
Google’s copying.  In 2015 alone, the year before the fair-
use  trial,  Google  earned  $18  billion  from  Android.  That 
number  has  no  doubt  dramatically  increased  as  Android 
has grown to dominate the global market share.9  On this 
scale, Google’s use of Oracle’s declaring code weighs heav-
ily—if not decisively—against fair use.

The majority attempts to dismiss this overwhelming com-
mercial use by noting that commercial use does “not neces-
sarily” weigh against fair use.  Ante, at 27.  True enough.
Commercial use sometimes can be overcome by use that is
sufficiently “transformative.”  Campbell, 510 U. S., at 579. 
But “we cannot ignore [Google’s] intended purpose of sup-
planting  [Oracle’s]  commercially  valuable”  platform  with
its own.  Harper, 471 U. S., at 562 (emphasis in original).
Even if we could, we have never found fair use for copying 
that reaches into the tens of billions of dollars and wrecks 

—————— 

9 The real value also may be much higher because Android indirectly 
boosts other sources of revenue.  For years Google has set its search en-
gine  as  the  default  engine  on  Android.    Google  can  use  that  engine  to 
collect reams of data used to deliver behavioral advertisements to con-
sumers  on  desktops.  Using  control  over  Android  to  choose  a  default 
search engine may seem trivial, but Google certainly does not think so. 
According to a Goldman Sachs analysis, Google paid Apple $12 billion to 
be the default search engine for Safari, Apple’s web browser, for just one 
year.  Leswing,  Apple  Makes  Billions  From  Google’s  Dominance  in 
Search—And It’s a Bigger Business Than iCloud or Apple Music, Busi-
ness Insider, Sept. 29, 2018.  Google does not appear to have disputed 
this figure.