z*******n
发帖数: 1034 | 1 The ruling that APIs can be copyrighted could make it a lot harder to take
advantage of APIs with a direct license
By Paul Krill | InfoWorld
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Oracle's surprise win in Java API case could make it harder for developers
With Oracle's surprise win in federal court today over its Java intellectual
property being used without permission in Google's Android mobile platform,
a whole new can of worms has been opened when it comes to use of APIs in
software development. Android uses Java APIs in its own Dalvik virtual
machine, and Google had argued that the use of those APIs didn't require
Oracle's permission because it wasn't using the actual Java Virtual Machine.
Although Java is offered as an open source platform, which means it is
supposed to be openly accessible for developers, Oracle had argued this
openness did not extend to the API packages. "It is undisputed that the Java
programming language is open and free for anyone to use," the appeals court
ruled (PDF) today. "Except to the limited extent noted below regarding
three of the API packages, it is also undisputed that Google could have
written its own API packages using the Java language. Google chose not to do
that. Instead, it is undisputed that Google copied 7,000 lines of declaring
code and generally replicated the overall structure, sequence, and
organization of Oracle's 37 Java API packages.... the 37 Java API packages
at issue are entitled to copyright protection."
That ruling reverses a lower district court's order from two years ago that
said APIs could not be protected under U.S. copyright law, which was Google'
s defense at the time. The appeals court today didn't actually rule that the
Java APIs at issue are in fact protected; a new jury in the original
district court will have to decide that. The appeals court instead ruled
that they could be copyrighted, and that the previous court's decision to
the contrary was wrong.
The court's ruling that APIs can be copyrighted could open a new front in
the battle over intellectual property being waged in the tech industry. Most
of the battles involve Android -- such as the years-old cases involving
Samsung and Apple over patent claims -- but the emerging principles would
affect software developers everywhere. All along, Oracle's case has caused
fears in the software industry that it would open a legal quagmire for both
Android and open source. Now, these fears could be at least partially
realized.
"I am not a lawyer, but from a developer perspective, the idea of
copyrighted APIs does nothing but introduce friction and uncertainty into
the very integration efforts the developers use APIs to accomplish," said
Jeffrey Hammond, a vice president at Forrester Research. "Devs will now need
to worry about the potential for API lock-in via copyright, as alternative
suppliers can't produce like-for-like substitutions without risk. I don't
see how this is good for developers as it amps up the fear, uncertainty, and
doubt about using third-party services."
"While the goal of avoiding fragmentation of Java that has been Oracle's
stated intent in pursuing this has some merit, we're not comfortable with
the idea that copyrighting APIs is the way to accomplish this," said Ed
Anuff, vice president of product strategy at Apigee, whose service provides
API access to developers over the cloud. "It's likely going to have the
opposite effect, causing the proliferation of convoluted APIs for no other
reason than to avoid the potential of legal exposure. That's a no-win
proposition for anyone involved."
Not surprisingly, Oracle attorney Josh Rosenkranz is happy with the ruling.
"Today, the federal circuit court affirmed that innovators can rest assured
that their breakthroughs will be protected." Oracle did not respond to
InfoWorld's inquiries over whether it might try to negotiate a settlement
before a new trial began in the lower court. Google did not respond to
InfoWorld's inquiries at all.
This story, "Oracle's surprise win in Java API case could make it harder for
developers," was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Get the first word
on what the important tech news really means with the InfoWorld Tech Watch
blog. For the latest developments in business technology news, follow
InfoWorld.com on Twitter. | z*******n
发帖数: 1034 | 2 Google还可以闹到最高法院解释，可是不乐观，
旧金山法院判定google胜才是意外的，software就有有copyright的判例
intellectual
platform,
【在 z*******n 的大作中提到】
: The ruling that APIs can be copyrighted could make it a lot harder to take
: advantage of APIs with a direct license
: By Paul Krill | InfoWorld
: Follow @pjkrill
: Print|
: inShare14
: Oracle's surprise win in Java API case could make it harder for developers
: With Oracle's surprise win in federal court today over its Java intellectual
: property being used without permission in Google's Android mobile platform,
: a whole new can of worms has been opened when it comes to use of APIs in
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