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It's unfortunate that the API was judged to be copyrightable. However if Google's use of the API in a commercial product is considered to be fair use, then pres
by incompatible 10y ago
It's unfortunate that the API was judged to be copyrightable. However if Google's use of the API in a commercial product is considered to be fair use, then presumably any use of the API would be fair use, and in practice the API is therefore public domain. I suppose I'm confused by the whole thing.
- threatofrain 10y agoFrom my reading, the names used for the API weren't copyrightable because copyrights didn't cover short names and phrases, so the remaining major question was whether the structure / sequence / organization of the API is copyrightable. There was like a multi-prong framework for viewing whether use of the structure of API was fair use, and I believe one argument rested on whether the copying of that structure related to external environmental factors like industry expectations. Another important aspect of the ruling was that copyrights were not meant to enforce monopolies, but rather patents were, and on the patent question the jury found Google to have written original classes and methods underneath the API.