Supreme Court should rule on a risk to innovation

The Supreme Court is considering whether to weigh in on a defining battle of the digital era. The court is about to decide what happens next in Oracle v. Google — a case that will affect not just the apps on your smartphone, but the future of American software innovation. The case hinges on whether developers should be able to create new applications using standard ways of accessing common functions. Those functions are the building blocks of computer programming, letting developers easily assemble the range of applications and tools we all use every day. Making it harder to connect with those functions would lock developers into existing platforms, thus reducing competition and, ultimately, hurting consumers. Unless the Supreme Court decides to review this case, Oracle and companies like it would become gatekeepers to interoperability.

[Kent Walker is senior vice president for global affairs for Google, overseeing Google's legal, policy, and compliance affairs, product policies, philanthropic efforts, and work with governments around the world]