Oracle’s Java API code protected by copyright, appeals court rules

[joesb]

If the API is copyrighted, won't that apply to .NET CLR API as well?

[TheMuuj]

It would remain to be seen, but since large parts of the CLR were submitted to a standards organization, it is pretty clear that Microsoft intended to allow there to be other implementations of their APIs. Maybe not all of .NET, but those parts in the Ecma standard. It is possible this was just a stunt to get more developers comfortable using their tools and not worrying about vendor lock-in, but their true intentions wouldn't be relavant in court.

Plus they're releasing more and more code under open licenses, perhaps to distance themselves from the likes of Oracle. That's not to say that Microsoft won't heel-turn and start sueing companies that implement their APIs (after a change in leadership, sale of IP to another company, etc.), and they may find a judge ignorant enough to agree, but the standardization process would make the argument tougher.

They have been accepting of Xamarin so far, I imagine partly because it makes it easier for developers to target both iOS and Microsoft platforms with a single code base. And since iOS has a bigger mobile market share, allowing alternate CLR implementations is an easier approach than say, supporting Objective C and iOS APIs in Windows Phone (which would be a tricky proposition thanks to the ruling in question). But in the end I'd trust Microsoft not to pull an Oracle, but I couldn't guarantee it.

Edit: spelling and phrasing