3 ms·
Strictly speaking, yes - this decision, as many other SCOTUS decisions, is tailored to specific case and leaves the other situations to be argued on their own m
by smsm42 6y ago
Strictly speaking, yes - this decision, as many other SCOTUS decisions, is tailored to specific case and leaves the other situations to be argued on their own merits. But having definite precedent in the situation where API has been recognized as non-copyrightable both sends signal to the lower courts about where SCOTUS leans, and to the potential plaintiffs about their chances to ultimately prevail. It is not a definite solution for all cases, but it shifts the calculus to the side of "if you sue for copyright infringement about S3 API, it'd be an uphill battle for you and probability to lose is high".
- ghayes 6y agoAnd remember that Fair Use is a four-part balancing test. Thus, a single factor shifting will still have to be weighed against the rest. Also, for the S3 APIs, you're also talking about using even _less_ of Amazon's copyrighted code (e.g. a dozen function signatures compared to millions of LoC).