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"(e) The fact that computer programs are primarily functional makes it difficult to apply traditional copyright concepts in that technological world." So the o

• mindcrime 6y ago
  True, but it's such a strong precedent in favor of copying API's being "fair use" that it at least partly moots the more general question of "are API's copyrightable in the first place." I think this was a good decision all in all. AIUI, the SCOTUS try to limit the scope of their decisions as much as possible, to avoid over-generalization.
  • Spivak 6y ago
    I don’t think it moots the point at all. * Google’s API copying can’t be fair use if they weren’t copyrightable in the first place. * If you do copy an API because of it’s beauty and not for either interoperability with software or interoperability with developers then it seems that you would run afoul of copyright.
    • mindcrime 6y ago
      If you do copy an API because of it’s beauty and not for either interoperability with software or interoperability with developers then it seems that you would run afoul of copyright. That's why I said it partly moots the issue, not completely. Yes, you could conceivably still run afoul of copyright in some cases, but at first blush, this seems like a precedent that will make it very unlikely that that would happen. I guess time will tell, but that's my initial perception. IANAL, of course.
      • CarelessExpert 6y ago
        > If you do copy an API because of it’s beauty and not for either interoperability with developers then it seems that you would run afoul of copyright. So don't do that? Why would you copy an API save to be inoperable? If it's just to duplicate someone else's design, I think I'm okay with that potentially being a copyright violation. What downside am I missing?
    • bzbarsky 6y ago
      That... somehow seems fair? If what you are copying is the artistic expression and not the functionality, that seems like exactly the sort of thing copyright is supposed to be about.
    • curt15 6y ago
      Of course fair use is moot if API cannot be copyrighted in the first place. But the court seems to say that this case would be fair use even if API is copyrighted. "We shall assume, but purely for argument’s sake, that the entire Sun Java API falls within the definition of that which can be copy-righted. We shall ask instead whether Google’s use of part of that API was a “fair use.” Unlike the Federal Circuit, we conclude that it was"
• Finnucane 6y ago
  Was the question of API copyrightability even raised before the court? I'd guess Google didn't think it was in their interest to go that far.
  • andrewnicolalde 6y ago
    It was, but SCOTUS declined to rule on it.