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Quick question, where do Mono/Xamarin or similar projects stand on this whole API copyright? Aren't they essentially writing a library with the same API as the

by hdra 12y ago

Quick question, where do Mono/Xamarin or similar projects stand on this whole API copyright? Aren't they essentially writing a library with the same API as the .NET or other single-platform framework? Or am I misunderstanding what they meant with API in this case?

wmf 12y ago
Yes, this case is highly relevant to Mono/Xamarin, although in practice I think it would be suicide for Microsoft to start suing people who clone their technology. Note that Miguel de Icaza is a signatory.
- Blazespinnaker 12y ago
  Miguel/Xamarin is a very strong partner of Microsoft as well :)
pjmlp 12y ago
Microsoft has issued a do not sue statement.
- kumarm 12y ago
  That is not good enough. Sun Was bought by Oracle and things changed. If Microsoft declines further, whats stopping from Oracle or someone else repeating the same?
  - thirdtruck 12y ago
    Estoppel. Since everyone acted in good faith when they availed themselves of Microsoft's pledge, the court will look very poorly on an attempt by Microsoft to rescind it.
  - the_why_of_y 12y ago
    Did Sun ever make a public statement that anybody is allowed to independently re-implement (subsets of) the JRE class library APIs? I don't recall such a promise. Probably it's tied to the notorious TCK certification process that always was entirely at Sun's discretion. Actually many years ago Sun has successfully sued Microsoft over Microsoft's incomplete JRE implementation, but I guess that was more about breach-of-contract and trademarks than it was about copyright. What Sun has done is release (most of) their own JRE implementation with a GPL(+exception) license, which would of course imply a license to the API copyrights that Oracle is now speciously claiming... but Google is not using this implementation (because, as everyone knows, there are obvious legal risks to using GPL'd code); IIRC the class library implementation that Google uses comes mostly from Apache.
    - kumarm 12y ago
      [Did Sun ever make a public statement that anybody is allowed to independently re-implement (subsets of) the JRE class library APIs? ] When Google Announced Android, CEO of Sun at the time welcomed the project and acknowledged it as a positive to Java Community.
dangoor 12y ago
Something else relevant as far as Mono goes is that I believe Microsoft put forth .NET as an ECMA standard.
rodgerd 12y ago
It would affect anything that implemented another API. Oracle could sue IBM and Postgresql for implementing Oracle SQLisms in their products. IBM could sue Oracle for appropriating SQL. WINE would exist by the grace of Microsoft. AT&T would have won their lawsuit against Berkely.

by hdra 12y ago

wmf 12y ago

Yes, this case is highly relevant to Mono/Xamarin, although in practice I think it would be suicide for Microsoft to start suing people who clone their technology. Note that Miguel de Icaza is a signatory.

Blazespinnaker 12y ago
Miguel/Xamarin is a very strong partner of Microsoft as well :)

pjmlp 12y ago

Microsoft has issued a do not sue statement.

kumarm 12y ago
That is not good enough. Sun Was bought by Oracle and things changed. If Microsoft declines further, whats stopping from Oracle or someone else repeating the same?
- thirdtruck 12y ago
  Estoppel. Since everyone acted in good faith when they availed themselves of Microsoft's pledge, the court will look very poorly on an attempt by Microsoft to rescind it.
- the_why_of_y 12y ago
  Did Sun ever make a public statement that anybody is allowed to independently re-implement (subsets of) the JRE class library APIs? I don't recall such a promise. Probably it's tied to the notorious TCK certification process that always was entirely at Sun's discretion. Actually many years ago Sun has successfully sued Microsoft over Microsoft's incomplete JRE implementation, but I guess that was more about breach-of-contract and trademarks than it was about copyright. What Sun has done is release (most of) their own JRE implementation with a GPL(+exception) license, which would of course imply a license to the API copyrights that Oracle is now speciously claiming... but Google is not using this implementation (because, as everyone knows, there are obvious legal risks to using GPL'd code); IIRC the class library implementation that Google uses comes mostly from Apache.
  - kumarm 12y ago
    [Did Sun ever make a public statement that anybody is allowed to independently re-implement (subsets of) the JRE class library APIs? ] When Google Announced Android, CEO of Sun at the time welcomed the project and acknowledged it as a positive to Java Community.

dangoor 12y ago

Something else relevant as far as Mono goes is that I believe Microsoft put forth .NET as an ECMA standard.

rodgerd 12y ago

It would affect anything that implemented another API. Oracle could sue IBM and Postgresql for implementing Oracle SQLisms in their products. IBM could sue Oracle for appropriating SQL. WINE would exist by the grace of Microsoft. AT&T would have won their lawsuit against Berkely.