Oracle's Java APIs are Not Copyrightable

Groklaw is covering the US decision that Oracle's Java APIs are not copyrightable — a decision which, to my mind, can only be described as a common sense interpretation of the both the wording of the US copyright laws and international obligations, and also the stated purpose of copyright law for the US.

The judge held:

"The overall name tree, of course, has creative elements but it is also a precise command structure — a utilitarian and functional set of symbols, each to carry out a pre-assigned function. This command structure is a system or method of operation under Section 102(b) of the Copyright Act and, therefore, cannot be copyrighted. Duplication of the command structure is necessary for interoperability....

Contrary to Oracle, copyright law does not confer ownership over any and all ways to implement a function or specification, no matter how creative the copyrighted implementation or specification may be. The Act confers ownership only over the specific way in which the author wrote out his version. Others are free to write their own implementation to accomplish the identical function, for, importantly, ideas, concepts and functions cannot be monopolized by copyright."

Now, one can only hope that a European court would reach a similar conclusion...