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Scientists ask Supreme Court to rule APIs can’t be copyrighted - OS News
What’s next, having copyrights on variable names? Just review that lawsuit and disallow copyrights on APIs right away. Copyrights on the code behind the API is more than enough.
I’m not entirely sure why AppleScript is listed but I assume that they mean the use of syntax in the global name space. Which would be weird having copyright on them. The way it works now is far from good but owning copyrights makes it only worse.
it’s just pointing out that, among the signatories, is one (or more) of the designers of AppleScript, along with the designers of several other languages. I don’t know that there’s any more to it than that.
I read it that they want to defend their designed language, but that doesn’t have to be the case of course.
No, I think quite the opposite – rather that they had designed languages, and therefore knew what was involved and what they were talking about, and that for all that, they don’t believe in copyrighting APIs.
That makes more sense, thanks.
Hello.
I am not going to say pro or con, because there are different situations under which api’s are made. But I can see that some api’s will be distributed under a non-disclosure license if this proposal is heard.
I think it is totally hypocritical, and cheeky, if scientists, that gets their articles distribitued for ridiculous amounts of money in scientific magazines proposes anything that has with copyright and opensource. There are no industry that are so copyrighted and less opensourced as published scientific results from Universities and the like.
Say you want to be updated, by a membership in one of the associations, then you’ll have to fork out say 200 bucks, you really have to be a member of 2-3 associations to keep you covered, then you are set back like 600 bucks. Now, if you still can’t find the article you are interested in, you’ll still have to pay like 25 bucks for an article. There really isn’t much opensource in this.
An api may be more than just some functions cobbled together with documentation, there may have been thought, grammar development, and Q&A involved, and it may be a competetive edge of a product, then I feel it should be able to copyright it.
I am totally for living in a world without patents on medicines, and where scientific articles and results are presented for free, but as long as the world is as it is, I advocate that the software industry should have the same ramifications as other industries. It is of course up to us voluntarily give up those rights on a per case basis, but we as an industry should be protected by the same laws that governs the rest of socitety.