Oracle v. Google: Are APIs Copyrightable?

摘要

There is irony in Oracle's API copyright claim against Google. When Sun was a major player in the computer industry, it was among the most vigorous proponents of pro-interoperability intellectual property rules. Sun, for instance, submitted amicus curiae briefs in the Altai and Lotus cases taking exactly the opposite position from Oracle in the Google case. Sun also supported an exclusion of software interfaces from copyright protection in Europe.