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The difference is that even though the Java API was licensed under the GPL, Google did not accept the GPL license. They implemented the API without a license. Were they willing to implement their code under the GPL there would have been nothing that Oracle could have done. I'm with others who say that an API should not be copyright-able, however it appears that in this case it doesn't matter. They may have a license! I haven't looked into it at all, but if it's true that Smartcar have implemented this API and distributed it under an MIT license, I think it will be really hard slogging to say, "We only meant to license some of the IP. We just gave a license and decided we'd wait until after the fact to tell people what it covered". I am a huge advocate of free software, but it really bothers me when people license something without having any clue what it actually means. I can't tell you the number of projects I've encountered who say things like, "I put it under the GPL, but you can't sell it", or "I put it under an open source license, but you can't use any of the code; just look at it", or "I put this game under a free software license, but you can't use any of the story for the game because software licenses only cover code", or "I put my code in the public domain, but that doesn't mean you can make a few changes and claim that it's yours", etc, etc. If you want a "I'll tell you if it's ok after you've done it" license, don't grant a general license! Reserve all your rights and handle licencing on a case by case basis. |