Simon Phipps:

The main substance of the case is now a copyright claim that surprised most observers. Oracle is claiming that, by implementing the Java programming language and interfaces in Android, Google is in breach of Oracle’s copyright.

This flies in the face of the received wisdom of the software industry. It’s so widely accepted that programming interfaces and languages are beyond the scope of copyright that very few cases have ever been brought to court. In those that have, the received wisdom has largely been upheld.

This is a good thing. Without it, the lives of programmers would be much more complex. Header files and function prototypes would all need licensing from their owners, so programming for any operating system would at best require attention to license compatibility and at worst would involve total control of the programming lifecycle by the platform vendor.

If Oracle wins, the decision could set a legal precedent that legitimizes controlling behaviors by platform vendors — and introduces a complex and unwelcome legalism into software development. Header files and function prototypes would need copyright statements and corresponding copyright licenses. Open source developers would need to check that the open source license on header files they were using was compatible with the open source license on their software. Corporate developers would receive instructions from their legal departments not to use GPL headers for fear of the license terms becoming applicable to corporate software. Complexity and confusion would return to a world where they have largely been expunged, bringing fear, uncertainty, and doubt back into open source software development.

via If Oracle wins its Android suit, everyone loses | Open Source Software – InfoWorld.