🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1990Mar30.031346.18362@brutus.cs.uiuc.edu> coolidge@cs.uiuc.edu
writes:
  
  This is much more problematic, because header files are, indeed, source
  code (at least in C++) because they contain inlines.

Header files are source code even if they contain only declarations; an
interface is an abstract shape, which can be realized in potentially many
different declarations. Where a (free) interface can only be realized in a
specific way as a source file, this is not copyrightable, because if an idea
can be expressed in only one way, that way cannot be copyrighted under
most countries' legislation.

  On the other hand, header files are _also_ interface specifications, which
  are currently in a nebulous area of copyright. I really can't believe that
  either the FSF or the LPF (League for Programming Freedom) would argue in
  _favor_ of the copyrightability of software interface specifications, or of
  programming language descriptions, or of any such thing, any more than
  they'd agree with the copyrightability of user interface specifications.

Incidentally, FSF supporters may be amused to learn the the EEC is planning
to enact "legislation" that grants companies the *copyrightability*, not just
patentability, of any and whatever interface they want, instructions sets,
APIs, languages, anything. You'd have to pay copyright fees to *use* them
(it also incidentally makes a copyright breach the *possession* of software
that could be used to circumvent copy protection schemes, which has already
led to the withdrawal from the market of some disk sector editors and backup
software).

Apart from being a legal monstrosity, that subverts all well understood
principles of intellectual property law, this is regarded as a suicidal move
by many, because since virtually all existing popular interfaces would
belong to USA companies, the entire European software industry would become
chained to USA interests.
-- 
Piercarlo "Peter" Grandi           | ARPA: pcg%cs.aber.ac.uk@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk
Dept of CS, UCW Aberystwyth        | UUCP: ...!mcvax!ukc!aber-cs!pcg
Penglais, Aberystwyth SY23 3BZ, UK | INET: pcg@cs.aber.ac.uk