3 ms·

>My original post was about a situation where the creator of an API didn't believe it to be copyrightable Your original post was about IBM not being able to co

>My original post was about a situation where the creator of an API didn't believe it to be copyrightable Your original post was about IBM not being able to copyright the PC Bios. Which is simply not true in any way shape or form. https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/news/how-compaqs-clone-computers-skirted-ibms-patents-and-gave-rise-to-eisa/ https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/news/how-compaqs-clone-comp... Relevant portion "But one problem remained with their IBM-compatible machine. How would they recreate the IBM BIOS without breaching the copyright? Why did they need a compatible BIOS (basic input output system)? . . . Some companies, such as Eagle, copied the BIOS either by reading the IBM manual to understand which interrupt codes did what or by simply copying the hard-coded ROM chip that holds the BIOS. This breached the copyright that IBM had over the BIOS and so did not take IBM long to prevent such companies from selling more of those machines. However, there is a way to bypass these types of copyrights with the use of a “clean room”."

protomyth 9y ago
Your original post was about IBM not being able to copyright the PC Bios. Which is simply not true in any way shape or form. No, no, no, that is not what I said. I was talking about the API of the BIOS. The BIOS source code is, of course, copyrightable. That is why IBM was able to make it very hard for people to copy it until folks did a proper clean room. Why would I go into detail about the counter measure if it was not copyrightable? That makes no sense.
- hcknwscommenter 9y ago
  Interesting edit to your original post. So their countermeasure was to try to taint everyone in the whole universe so a clean room reimplimentation would not be possible? Wow. Interesting interpretation.
  - protomyth 9y ago
    That is not an interpretation, that was an actual strategy. They put enough information and source code into the documents that described its function to taint anyone who read the documentation. There are multiple sources (and I do believe some TV) on IBM's strategy. Compaq's Garry Stimac realized the problem when he read the manuals. A clean room strategy was setup.
- hcknwscommenter 9y ago
  You said: >My original post was about a situation where the creator of an API didn't believe it to be copyrightable and then made an attempt at protecting it a different way. What "different way" are we talking about here? IBM asserted their copyright quite forcefully against Eagle and shut them down.
  - protomyth 9y ago
    You really need to read ScottBurson's commen https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16693994 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16693994 because you don't seem to understand the difference between an API and source code. Eagle directly copied the source code of the BIOS, they were not sued for copying the API.
ScottBurson 9y ago
You don't seem to understand what an API is. The API of a BIOS is not the whole thing! It just specifies the interface by which the BIOS can be called by the OS. For a crude analogy, consider the interface specification that most modern cars adhere to: there will be a steering wheel with a certain shape, size, and position relative to the driver's seat; there will be two or three pedals, with the accelerator on the right, the brake pedal to its left, and the clutch pedal, if present, to the left of the brake; etc. etc. None of this tells you whether the car runs on gasoline, diesel, CNG, or electricity, or whether the motor is in the back or the front, how many cylinders it has, etc. — all these are implementation details that do not usually affect the interface much. The implementation of the BIOS — the code that actually performs its various functions — is clearly copyrightable, and always has been. But the API is just the specification of what those functions are and how they can be invoked. Imagine if one car manufacturer had been able to copyright the steering wheel and pedal arrangement that we're all familiar with!

protomyth 9y ago

Your original post was about IBM not being able to copyright the PC Bios. Which is simply not true in any way shape or form. No, no, no, that is not what I said. I was talking about the API of the BIOS. The BIOS source code is, of course, copyrightable. That is why IBM was able to make it very hard for people to copy it until folks did a proper clean room. Why would I go into detail about the counter measure if it was not copyrightable? That makes no sense.

hcknwscommenter 9y ago
Interesting edit to your original post. So their countermeasure was to try to taint everyone in the whole universe so a clean room reimplimentation would not be possible? Wow. Interesting interpretation.
- protomyth 9y ago
  That is not an interpretation, that was an actual strategy. They put enough information and source code into the documents that described its function to taint anyone who read the documentation. There are multiple sources (and I do believe some TV) on IBM's strategy. Compaq's Garry Stimac realized the problem when he read the manuals. A clean room strategy was setup.
hcknwscommenter 9y ago
You said: >My original post was about a situation where the creator of an API didn't believe it to be copyrightable and then made an attempt at protecting it a different way. What "different way" are we talking about here? IBM asserted their copyright quite forcefully against Eagle and shut them down.
- protomyth 9y ago
  You really need to read ScottBurson's commen https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16693994 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16693994 because you don't seem to understand the difference between an API and source code. Eagle directly copied the source code of the BIOS, they were not sued for copying the API.

ScottBurson 9y ago

You don't seem to understand what an API is. The API of a BIOS is not the whole thing! It just specifies the interface by which the BIOS can be called by the OS. For a crude analogy, consider the interface specification that most modern cars adhere to: there will be a steering wheel with a certain shape, size, and position relative to the driver's seat; there will be two or three pedals, with the accelerator on the right, the brake pedal to its left, and the clutch pedal, if present, to the left of the brake; etc. etc. None of this tells you whether the car runs on gasoline, diesel, CNG, or electricity, or whether the motor is in the back or the front, how many cylinders it has, etc. — all these are implementation details that do not usually affect the interface much. The implementation of the BIOS — the code that actually performs its various functions — is clearly copyrightable, and always has been. But the API is just the specification of what those functions are and how they can be invoked. Imagine if one car manufacturer had been able to copyright the steering wheel and pedal arrangement that we're all familiar with!