Office by Alex Penny
My name is Bill, I am a recent graduate in Information Sciences and Technology from Penn State University and this is a place for me to post or give my 2 cents on the fascinating world of technology. I am now working for a pretty big technology related company whose name I will leave out just to avoid any possible complications, however far-fetched them happening may be. Music gets included from time to time as well.
Reposted from http://bit.ly/XDyfuv on February 11, 2013 at 12:39PMIn July 2012, Jonathan Dharmaraj and his girlfriend of almost a year broke up. After spending every second together — working in the same hospital and living two minutes from each other — they both went off to different…
If this actually works I believe you have met somebody special.
It’s amazing how much the jury actually got. The entire time we were worried that these people were sitting there befuddled by jargon, but they actually did an excellent job interpreting the legal reasons behind the laws they were debating and applying them to the case. That they ultimately made the decision based on what’s good for the public really blows my mind, you’ll never find that reasoning in a Texas jury. It’s annoying that the judge’s instructions for them to think of API’s as copyrightable made them feel like their deciding power was limited. This part of the case I feel was the most mishandled and definitely worthy of Google’s call for a mistrial. Still, can’t be upset to see a group of Americans come together and make a thoughtful, rational decision after amicable debating.
How the jury decided that android infringed on copyright but not patents is beyond me. While I can’t say I disagree with the outcome, this entire trial was incredibly strange. Of course we still have to see what the judge decides about whether API’s are covered by copyright or not but I don’t see there being any chance of Oracle coming away from this happy.
“Given this, says Ronald Abramson, a ruling on the Java APIs could be relevant to almost any other common way of sending data. ‘These are a pretty typical APIs. They’re a definition of how you talk to something,’ he says. ‘This would be a strong precedent and it would be pretty difficult to distinguish them from other APIs…I would be concerned that [the ruling] would have broad ramifications for other APIs and beyond APIs. If you can copyright the structure, sequence, and organization of data, that changes the landscape.’”
It’s ridiculous this is even up for debate. Copyrights are explicitly meant for creative works, patents are meant for processes. Even if this wasn’t the case, saying you could copyright an API in Java is like saying you can copyright the instruments on a recording.
“Treating APIs as copyrightable would have a profound negative impact on interoperability, and, therefore, innovation. APIs are ubiquitous and fundamental to all kinds of program development … Allowing a party to assert control over APIs means that a party can determine who can make compatible and interoperable software, an idea that is anathema to those who create the software we rely on everyday. Put clearly, the developer of a platform should not be able to control add-on software development for that platform”
-Julie Samuels, EFF
Where was this article 3 weeks ago? I thought I must have been misunderstanding something with the lack of concern over the possible precedents this case could set. Especially in today’s climate we need as much openness as possible for innovation to thrive. Our intellectual property laws have become a hindrance rather than a reward. Programming languages and API’s need to be thought of as the same as regular language, they’re not a product.
Some good points, the question is are we better off as “free-lance” employees? It seems like this would give the individual more power, but it could backfire into making it easier for companies to pass off responsibility. It also seems a little messy that we’re heading in a direction where all the different parts of a piece of software are handled by different companies. Seems like an integration nightmare. However, with the growing popularity of Software as a Service and APIs there has never been a better time.
Reason why Apple improves slowest.
I really should have posted something on this by now considering how big the changes facebook is making and how strong my opinion is on it. I have Spotify and had to deal with the automatic posting this past weekend. It was pretty annoying, as much as facebook wants us to share everything, they have to take it one step at a time. There seems to be no option to be asked if you want to post something each time, which I think they should have added to ease people into the whole process. As usual Mark Zuckerberg is playing things 10 steps ahead but can’t see 2 feet in front of him.
