Google, Oracle Financed Many Supporters in Supreme Court Faceoff

  • Both companies funded some who signed friend-of-court briefs
  • Supreme Court rules don’t require general funding disclosures

The U.S. Supreme Court stands on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

Photographer: Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg
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Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Oracle Corp. will face off in the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday in a multibillion-dollar copyright dispute with sweeping implications for technology and media companies worldwide.

But the finale of the high-stakes litigation, which has been grinding through the federal courts for a decade, may be remembered for another reason: as a case study in the subtle art of influencing Supreme Court justices.