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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 6/28/19 11:40 PM, Bruce Perens via
License-discuss wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:CAK2MWOtpGcetuQgOnK-9bU=sZEgG_HOGxSRdVh_MvzR4MA2zZQ@mail.gmail.com"><span
class="gmail-im" style="color:rgb(80,0,80)">
<div><br>
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<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px
0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><i>Until now, the principle of copyleft
has only been applied to literal code, not APIs. The <span
class="gmail-il">license</span> submitter’s proposal is
for a copyleft effect that would apply to new
implementations of the API even when the underlying has
been written from scratch. <a
class="gmail-m_-3438543155154543484gmail-m_-8747199028017241789moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://lists.opensource.org/pipermail/license-review_lists.opensource.org/2019-April/004056.html"
target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true">http://lists.opensource.org/pipermail/<span
class="gmail-il">license</span>-review_lists.opensource.org/2019-April/004056.html</a>.
The <span class="gmail-il">license</span> also makes this
extension even if the legal system would not extend
copyright (and therefore copyleft) so far. During the <span
class="gmail-il">license</span>-review process some
commentators objected to this extension of the copyleft
principle this far. However, the <span class="gmail-il">license</span> review
committee does not believe that there was sufficient
discussion representing all points of view on the <span
class="gmail-il">license</span>-review list and so does
not reject the <span class="gmail-il">license</span> for
this reason. The <span class="gmail-il">license</span> submitter
should also be aware that the OSI was a signatory on a
brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court advocating
against the copyrightability of APIs. APIs are also known
to be outside the scope of copyright under European law.
We are consequently uncomfortable endorsing an application
of copyright law to APIs in any form without further
discussion.</i></div>
</blockquote>
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</span>
<div>The successful application of copyright to APIs would be a
disaster for Open Source software, in that we would no longer be
able to create Open versions of existing APIs or languages.
Consider that the GNU C compiler is the bootstrap tool of Open
Source. Now, consider what would have happened if copyright
protection had prevented independent implementations of the C
language.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>So, it's a bad idea for us to in any way accept the
application of API copyright today.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>If we actually <i>get </i>API copyrights enforced against us
broadly, we would obviously have to change our strategy. But
until then, we shouldn't go there.</div>
<span class="gmail-im" style="color:rgb(80,0,80)">
<div> </div>
</span></blockquote>
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