The is a fairly narrow one, applying only to the 37 Java application programming interfaces that Google was accused of infringing at trial. Still, it will be seen as a victory by many in the software industry, who feared that a ruling in Oracle's favor would stifle innovation among developers.

"This order does not hold that Java API packages are free for all to use without license," Judge William Alsup wrote in his order filed Thursday at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. "It does not hold that the structure, sequence and organization of all computer programs may be stolen. Rather, it holds on the specific facts of this case, the particular elements replicated by Google were free for all to use under the Copyright Act."

Oracle said it would "vigorously pursue an appeal of the ruling."

Oracle sued Google about two years ago, alleging its Android software infringed patents and copyrights for Java that Oracle acquired when it bought Sun Microsystems in early 2010.

The jury of patent infringement earlier this month, but it delivered only a on the question of copyright infringement. Before Thursday's ruling, Google faced the prospect of a new trial to decide that issue.