[Discuss] can you copyright an API?

[tmetro-blu at vl.com (Tom Metro)]

32 lines of APIs and a 9 line function is what Oracle accuses Google
violated the copyright on? Ack. A half hour of lawyer time would pay for
that content to be recreated from scratch. Well, that's an exaggeration,
but one would expect the volume of alleged stolen code to have a bearing
on the size of the damages. (That 9 lines out of a 924 line file, and
15M lines in Android.)

Oracle also contends a few patents were violated, which Google counters
are invalid. (Originally 7 patents, whittled down to 2. You'd think Sun
would have had a vast library of applicable patents they they could use
to bar an unlicensed Java clone.)

Mostly is seems this is coming down to the issue of whether you can
patent an API - the names of classes, methods, and their arguments.

How much is an API a work of creative expression? It would seem it lies
somewhere between a phone book (which has been determined to be
something you can't copyright) and a program.

"Tech News Today" episode #484 has a good explanation of the issues in
contention stating at about the 15 minute mark:
http://twit.tv/show/tech-news-today/484

They largely summarize this article:

Android, Java, and the tech behind Oracle v. Google (FAQ)
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57417144-92/android-java-and-the-tech-behind-oracle-v-google-faq/

  Oracle argues that the APIs aren't merely gateways to pre-written
  code, but actually a work unto themselves. The APIs collectively are
  carefully designed to work properly together, and the design of an
  individual API and its corresponding class library are essentially two
  sides of the same coin.

It's certainly true that a lot of work can go into the design of APIs.
Sometimes as up-front design, but almost always as refinements made as
you learn the requirements of the code using the libraries.

So by copying someone else's API, you're grabbing a bunch of effort that
has been distilled down into the API through their choice of methods and
arguments.

If the courts show that you can copyright APIs, it'll have a big impact
on the software industry, and impact many open source projects that
provide libraries that are compatible with proprietary products.
Something like Mono would become impossible.

 -Tom

-- 
Tom Metro
Venture Logic, Newton, MA, USA
"Enterprise solutions through open source."
Professional Profile: http://tmetro.venturelogic.com/