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> The law of the land is now that when you create an API it is copyrighted. The US is the only strange land where such a law could be even comprehended. Assert

> The law of the land is now that when you create an API it is copyrighted. The US is the only strange land where such a law could be even comprehended. Asserting API copyright to someone on the basis of accusation of copying nine lines of code[1] indicates that a jury isn't in its right mind. 1. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3940683 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3940683

_asummers 11y ago
Nine lines of extremely trivial code; one would be hard pressed to write it any other way. The judge from the initial trial basically yelled at the Oracle attorneys saying that it was code that a highschooler could have written.
throwawaykf05 11y ago
HN is a strange forum, where ostensibly intelligent people will post uninformed, sensationalistic comments despite the presence of multiple earlier comments in the same thread by better-informed people explaining things clearly. To wit: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10848716 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10848716 (While I am not sure it nails all the nuances exactly, especially around the distinction between web and language APIs, it is an infinitely better account of the situation than what I've seen in any tech media so far. Golly, I wonder why.) Of course, it doesn't help that the better informed comment is also down-voted, making it harder to find.
- rms_returns 11y ago
  No doubt, the link you have provided has some merit and explains a lot about the Oracle's side of coin. But after reading a lot about this story from all different angles, my final impression is that no organization is all too saintly or 100% honest, and neither are any altogether guilty. In fact, the thing about organizations is that they are multi-faced and do a lot of complex things and its just impossible to keep track of all those details. Considering all this, I feel that the only important thing in technology is that concentration of power shouldn't be in the hands of one/few tech companies, be it Oracle or Google. Rather, there should be checks and balances everywhere. Ideally, all software should be produced by communities where all coders are chosen strictly on merit every commit passes through the scrutiny of all members.

_asummers 11y ago

Nine lines of extremely trivial code; one would be hard pressed to write it any other way. The judge from the initial trial basically yelled at the Oracle attorneys saying that it was code that a highschooler could have written.

throwawaykf05 11y ago

HN is a strange forum, where ostensibly intelligent people will post uninformed, sensationalistic comments despite the presence of multiple earlier comments in the same thread by better-informed people explaining things clearly. To wit: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10848716 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10848716 (While I am not sure it nails all the nuances exactly, especially around the distinction between web and language APIs, it is an infinitely better account of the situation than what I've seen in any tech media so far. Golly, I wonder why.) Of course, it doesn't help that the better informed comment is also down-voted, making it harder to find.

rms_returns 11y ago
No doubt, the link you have provided has some merit and explains a lot about the Oracle's side of coin. But after reading a lot about this story from all different angles, my final impression is that no organization is all too saintly or 100% honest, and neither are any altogether guilty. In fact, the thing about organizations is that they are multi-faced and do a lot of complex things and its just impossible to keep track of all those details. Considering all this, I feel that the only important thing in technology is that concentration of power shouldn't be in the hands of one/few tech companies, be it Oracle or Google. Rather, there should be checks and balances everywhere. Ideally, all software should be produced by communities where all coders are chosen strictly on merit every commit passes through the scrutiny of all members.