[License-discuss] Copyright on APIs

[Russell McOrmond]

On Sun, Jun 30, 2019 at 6:44 PM Lawrence Rosen <lrosen at rosenlaw.com> wrote:

> Thank you again Patrice-Emanuel, and thanks also to the EU for a much
> clearer explanation of functional software interfaces ("APIs") than the
> brief but equally relevant provision in 17 USC 102(b). I hope the US
> Supreme Court is as clear in its decision in the Oracle v. Google case.
>
>
>
> OSI should let "strong copyleft" die peacefully among the mistaken
> theories of open source in any future licenses it approves. It is not a
> positive feature of "software freedom."
>

  I've been reading this thread with interest, and want to add in my own
thoughts as a participant in the movement since the early 1990's. The FSF
has made several mistakes in this time when it comes to protecting software
freedom.

  I strongly believe we should internationally be pushing copyright forward
from what was articulated in the 1991 EU directive on software which
suggested interfaces are not restricted subject matter.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31991L0250:EN:HTML

  The 1991 directive was a good start, but we should be going further to
not allow contracts or technical measures which seek to circumvent these
limits on exclusive rights.  Unfortunately as a community we have been
embracing opposing concepts.

  Far worse than the concept of "strong copyleft" is the concept of the
Affero clauses which trigger on private modification of software.  The
Free/Libee and Open Source Software movements should be strongly rejecting
these concepts in order to protect software freedom, not providing examples
of allegedly positive "uses" of these harmful concepts.

  Those who are trying to protect software freedom should be trying to turn
the GPL and AGPL into only being able to be the equivalent of LGPL, as the
clauses which differentiate the GPL and AGPL from the LGPL should not be
enforceable under any law in any country.

-- 
Russell McOrmond, Internet Consultant: <http://www.flora.ca/>

Please help us tell the Canadian Parliament to protect our property rights
as owners of Information Technology. Sign the petition! http://l.c11.ca/ict/

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