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This is only true if you exclude the middle ground of APIs being copyrightable with fair use exceptions. In other words, you can't kick start your program by c
by treis 7y ago
This is only true if you exclude the middle ground of APIs being copyrightable with fair use exceptions. In other words, you can't kick start your program by copying the structure of another, but you can create a compatibility layer to your novel program.
- jandrese 7y agoI don't see how creating a compatibility layer makes it fair use. Unless you're only using 5% of the original API or have a strictly educational use you're going to be in violation. Even then you'll need to fight it out in court if the original party is litigious like Oracle and there's absolutely no guarantee that you'll get a jury that understands and is friendly to the concept for Fair Use. Media companies have been basically claiming that Fair Use is a myth for many years now, often successfully.
- treis 7y agoBecause it's transformative: >The Transformative Factor: The Purpose and Character of Your Use >In a 1994 case, the Supreme Court emphasized this first factor as being an important indicator of fair use. At issue is whether the material has been used to help create something new or merely copied verbatim into another work. https://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-use/four-factors/ https://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-use/four-factors/ IMHO simply re-implementing an API is not creating something new. It's just redoing something that has already been done. A translation layer from one API to another is a new thing separate from the original API.