[Discuss] can you copyright an API?

[gaf at blu.org (Jerry Feldman)]

Groklaw: http://www.groklaw.net, covers this pretty extensively. Boy, if
Darl had thought this one up, the SCO vs everyone would have even been
more interesting.

On 04/23/2012 02:19 AM, Tom Metro wrote:
> 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
>


-- 
Jerry Feldman <gaf at blu.org>
Boston Linux and Unix
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