Although this seems like the right way to go about it, isn't there some kind of limit to how much you _can_ copy AE before it becomes a copyright issue?
You can't copyright capabilities. I believe an exact copy of AE is perfectly legal so long as it isn't fooling people into thinking it's AE, and doesn't use any of the original code.
The visual look can be protected, some novel or distinctive features can be patented or trademarked (like Amazon patented one click purchases??), but the core functionality is up for grabs
The big Oracle / Google lawsuit a few years back is a good example. Google rebuilt the Java compiler to avoid paying licencing fees (?), and argued that because they did it from the API specs, without referring to the existing code, it was aboveboard. The functionality is not copyrightable, just the specific implementation.
The visual look can be protected, some novel or distinctive features can be patented or trademarked (like Amazon patented one click purchases??), but the core functionality is up for grabs
The big Oracle / Google lawsuit a few years back is a good example. Google rebuilt the Java compiler to avoid paying licencing fees (?), and argued that because they did it from the API specs, without referring to the existing code, it was aboveboard. The functionality is not copyrightable, just the specific implementation.