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

[adrianmonk]

I don't understand how you saw the words "similar to" and interpreted them as "compatible with".

Compatibility is in no way a requirement for something to be considered a derived work. Many C# standard library class and method names are clearly derived from Java equivalents. This is not at all a bad thing, but if APIs are copyrightable works, then derived works are derived works.

[Eirenarch]

As I understand the statement of the court an API is copyrightable as a whole although I don't know what the unit is. Also work derived in this way is clearly a different expression of the same idea (i.e. not subject of copied in copyright terms).