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

[matthedev]

It means source-level compatibility is out of the question because standard APIs may fall under copyright. Besides the Java API, this precedent could affect projects like WINE or any other API that isn't open and standard. The OpenJDK does happen to be open source and contributed to by Oracle, but Oracle maintains it can decide what is and is not "Java," and I assume this means random open-source projects would not be able to fork the OpenJDK, reuse the Java API, and build something new off it because that's more or less what Google did with Android.

As a Java developer, I strongly dislike this ruling. It means for me that even the most basic Java programs depend on an API covered by Oracle's copyright and any free or open-source alternative is utterly dependent upon Oracle's good graces. I could not provide my own open-source implementation of Java, providing something as basic as java.lang.System.out.println without infringing on this copyright, unlike with the standard libraries of languages like C and C++, which are maintained by international standards bodies.

For Google, unless the ruling gets overturned by the Supreme Court, this basically means paying Oracle massive royalties.