The Oracle vs. Google Case Is Concerning Some Wine Developers

[c117152]

The Eu and other places have copyright , patent and trademark laws that at least try to fall in line with its supossed cardinal principles ( fair use , trademark guidelines ( not with that name ) ,idea / implementation divide ) and take into account the specifics of computer software. This is One of the many , many reasons why open source software organizations shouldnt be heartquartered in the usa

Wait for it: https://creativecommons.org/2018/03/...s-right-share/

Actually the EU is responding to corporate-led American protectionism through its own corporate-led protectionism. I guess they don't teach about mercantilism and the Netherlands in business schools anymore. Suffice to say free, open-source is going to get even better in the next few years. Though we might need to learn Korean or Chinese a little... :/

[lord_phantom]

Ditch US

[GunpowaderGuy]

@Vistau i didnt said otherwise , i was referring to organizations such as mozilla

[GunpowaderGuy]

c117152 look what was just released https://www.journalismfestival.com/p...pyright-reform

[PackRat]

Linux still has open source game engines that can be a better option for some games. "XLEngine allows you to play Dark Forces, Daggerfall and soon Outlaws and Blood with modern technology." It was recently open sourced https://github.com/Mindwerks/XLEngine. I think those are dos games, but OpenMW and others engines do give modern tech to older games.

[starshipeleven]

If people understood computers then we wouldn't have had software copyrights and patents in the first place since it's all math anyhow.

What? Software is logic, not math. You can put down the same logic with clockwork, electrical switches/relays (analogic electronics), or digital code run on a digital processor.

Even if it is actually doing math, like with mechanical or digital calculators, that's logic, not math. The machine can and will return that 2+2 equals 5, as it's not following math, but logic (IF "programmed condition", THEN "programmed reaction").

If you understood computers you would not treat them differently to clockwork or analog electronics.

[Hi-Angel]

What? Software is logic, not math. You can put down the same logic with clockwork, electrical switches/relays (analogic electronics), or digital code run on a digital processor.

Even if it is actually doing math, like with mechanical or digital calculators, that's logic, not math. The machine can and will return that 2+2 equals 5, as it's not following math, but logic (IF "programmed condition", THEN "programmed reaction").

If you understood computers you would not treat them differently to clockwork or analog electronics.

Math is a formalization whilst software is an implementation. "Math" is not only about linear algebra and combinatorics — there's also abstract algebra, set theory, category theory, and a lot of other branches; and there you've got to work with properties, abstract concepts, and proofs. It's a lot of logic, which doesn't make it any less mathy.

I'd argue, any time you try to break a real-life event to common properties, and to formalize it into terse and predictable patterns — there's a math in it.

[starshipeleven]

"Math" is not only about linear algebra and combinatorics

That's a different definition from what I was using but I think we are both right. When people use "math" they usually mean calculations (from algebra to complex functions), not the whole thing. You can probably thank school for that.

Mathematics in the general sense like you say is a massive all-encompassing monster that IS basically science and technology. It's the language of the universe, the code of reality, and whatever. So yeah, it's also logic, among all other things.

But the point that matters the most is that his statement remains bullshit even if we use the more general definition for "math", as again computer software remains exactly the same thing as clockwork or analog electronics and I'm not seeing a good reason why we should not have copyright and patents on that.

[Danny3]

name and arguments of functions are copyrightable

What???
I know that the copyright and patent system in America are as idiotic as possible, but this is unbelievable
Are simple words copyrightable?
Did they invent them?
Did they also invent the individual letters of the alphabet from which the words are made?
I wonder if I write a function definition generator that will generate more than a million function names and arguments in about 50K files and upload the repository to Github under a restrictive licence.
Then I can sue a lot of companies, because some of them will inevitably use some of the functions names and arguments, that "I wrote", right?

In the end, who the fuck cares about the US, they don't care about nobody except themselves
If WINE have anything there, I think they should just move it in Canada or Europe.

[starshipeleven]

What???
I know that the copyright and patent system in America are as idiotic as possible, but this is unbelievable
Are simple words copyrightable?
Did they invent them?

It's not just words, it's a function interface (function name + variables) that allows people to call the functions in their libraries.

If someone copies the same function interface then this means their library can be used to replace your library without requiring developer interaction.

Enforcing the copyright on function interfaces is a way to get a vendor lock-in, which is technically a bad thing to do, but imho is within the rights of the library creator.

As long as this is known from the start. Doing a Oracle maneuver where they lay a bait and then ninja on the neck of other big companies with these bullshit claims is another matter.

I wonder if I write a function definition generator that will generate more than a million function names and arguments in about 50K files and upload the repository to Github under a restrictive licence.
Then I can sue a lot of companies, because some of them will inevitably use some of the functions names and arguments, that "I wrote", right?

No, the point of using the same name and args is to make a new library that is a drop-in replacement for your library. A random function name generator does not make a drop-in replacement for a library.