On Tue, Apr 6, 2021, 12:31 PM D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk, <talk@gtalug.org> wrote:

Oracle sued Google, claiming Android infringed Oracle's patents on Java.
Somehow. That failed.

So they sued for copyright infringement based on the copying of the API
declarations.

The computer community had been very scared that APIs could be
copyrighted, something nobody had expected.

The US Supreme Court decided that this particular case came under "fair
use". and was no infringement. This was NOT a general decision about
APIs.

This is very good news of Free Software. And consumers.

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20210405/09243546552/supreme-court-sides-with-google-decade-long-fight-over-api-copyright-googles-copying-java-api-is-fair-use.shtml

I read that article with interest after I had used a pharmacological/health sciences metaphore about copyright in another thread. This description of how the courts view a value added proposition, is closer to the crucible of linux topicality, but the principal is the same.

Shame on Oracle for not sharing what they conceptually borrowed elsewhere for their product.

You may use other copy protected work under fair use if it adds value to the proposition. I think this decision makes that pretty clear.

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