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So they built a new product to a competitor's API spec? There is nothing wrong with that, the API itself is a plug - you need to implement the backend to compet
by seibelj 8y ago
So they built a new product to a competitor's API spec? There is nothing wrong with that, the API itself is a plug - you need to implement the backend to compete.
It is super lame and dumb to have ripped off their doc, but the API format itself is not an issue to me. If I were going to implement a competitor to Google Maps, it would make sense to copy the Maps API so people can migrate seamlessly. That is the nature of SaaS.
The core value proposition is not in API design, it's in the implementation.
- beckler 8y agodocumentation is protected under copyright.
- rat9988 8y agoApi design is part of the value.
- chii 8y agoAnd not all value is capturable under copyright. If you want this level of capture of value, use patents instead.
- phkahler 8y agoI agree with you completely, but Oracle vs Google is still going through the courts on this exact issue - copyright on APIs. I've seen product roll-outs delayed because that case isn't settled yet. For VCs to jump in knowing that's what this was seems risky, but maybe they factored that in.
- ddebernardy 8y agoThis isn't (only) about copyright on APIs; it's also about copyright on the API docs.
- chii 8y agoThe docs definitely is a violation, but that's a foregone conclusion when even the examples are exactly the same. The copyright of the structure of the API, however, is still something to be debated about.