[dragonwriter]

> the philips screw head was patented.

> By all accounts thats an “interface” for a screw to be driven in by a screw driver.

As a functional component, to the extent novel and otherwise eligible for patent, patent protection for APIs makes perfect sense; patents also have an extremely short duration compared to essentially-eternal copyrights.

API copyrightability is, aside from being inconsistent (IMO) with both the letter and intent of the law, an absolutely nightmare in practical terms because it has neither the novelty requirements nor the short term associated with patents.