Copyright, Open Source and APIs (towards an Interface Commons)
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Session talk at defrag 2012, Steven Willmott: http://www.3scale.net
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Copyright, Open Source and APIs (towards an Interface Commons)
- 1. Copyright, Open Source and APIs
- 2. Steven Willmott, 3scale networks steve@3scale.net / @njyx
- 3. http://www.3scale.net @3scale http://apistrategyconference.com 21-22 Feb, 2013
- 4. IANAL (& This is Not Legal Advice)
- 5. Outline • Copyright and APIs don’t mix • Alsup to the rescue • But there’s still a problem • Share rather than copyright - towards an Interface Commons
- 6. Copyright & APIs From: app.net API Copyright would imply, no reuse of whole or (possibly) fragments
- 7. Copyrighting APIs? v’s v’s
- 8. Bad News for Everybody • Copyrighting the Idea of something rather than its Expression • Copyrighting every possible implementation of that thing • Makes • Building almost any new language or API hard • Integrating systems impossible
- 9. Copyright Gridlock API 2 Bad news even if you API 3 are the original copyright claimant API 1 API 1.1 ? Even worse if the APIs / Fragments are generic API 5 Leads to widespread paralysis API 4
- 10. Luckily...
- 11. Recent Judgements => No Copyright
- 12. US Verdict So long as the specific code used to implement a method is different, anyone is free under the Copyright Act to write his or her own code to carry out exactly the same function or specification of any methods used in the Java API. It does not matter that the declaration or method header lines are identical.
- 13. European Verdict [... the Court holds that neither the functionality of a computer program nor the programming language and the format of data files used in a computer program in order to exploit certain of its functions constitute a form of expression. Accordingly, they do not enjoy copyright protection.]
- 14. So, All Clear?
- 15. Not so Fast! • There is still uncertainty (EFF Appeal) • “Copyright” is still everywhere • Reuse can still be Plagiarism • There may be patents... https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/11/no-copyrights-apis- help-us-make-case
- 16. E.g. Bad Behaviour Copy/Paste? -> Copyright still applies to some things + can still be plaigiarism
- 17. So What to do? • What should we do when designing APIs? • Should we be sharing rather than copyrighting? • What if you actually want to protect something?
- 19. Actually Sharing would be very powerful • Reduces coding hassle • Ups Re-use • Makes Better Interfaces Remind you of Open Source? But there is little API Interface sharing today
- 20. Things to think about
- 21. If you publish APIs • Think about how you feel about re-use • If you’re cool with sharing, find a way to signal it • If you think the technology is genuinely unique and worthy of protection: patent rather than copyright
- 22. If you want to “Re-use” APIs • Ask! • Attribute! • Contribute! • Get clarification on status of re-use • Figure out who the original Author is
- 23. As a Community • Think about how to better share interfaces • Consider an “interface commons” (or an creative commons for interfaces) • Play nice when re-using, attributing and sharing • Encourage clarity • Encourage convergence in interfaces
- 24. Ready to Share Creative Commons Public Github WADL / Swagger etc.
- 25. There are inherent Tensions in this...
- 26. It’s Hard + Difficult to Achieve but..
- 27. It’s Worth it • Start building a culture of open / reusable interfaces [100’s, 1000’s, ...] • Make API design better • Speed up pretty much everything Interested in people thoughts on how to get there!
- 28. Thank You & Discussion Contact: Steven Willmott steve@3scale.net http://www.3scale.net @njyx