I study the source of clojure:

/ ------------------------------------------
/**
* Copyright (c) Rich Hickey. All rights reserved.
The use and distribution terms for this software are covered by the
* Eclipse Public License 1.0 (http://opensource.org/licenses/eclipse-1.0.php)
* which can be found in the file epl-v10.html at the root of this distribution.
* By using this software in any fashion, you are agreeing to be bound by
* the terms of this license.
* You must not remove this notice, or any other, from this software.
**/

/* rich Jun 11, 2008 */

package clojure.lang;

public interface IReduce extends IReduceInit{
Object reduce(IFn f) ;
} / ------------------------------------------

Really? Can we be forced to look at copyright before we can use
this? Can this trivial code really be copyrighted?
Note that the copyright message dwarfs the code.
The only clue what this is supposed to mean is that it is present at
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/clojure/clojure/master/src/jvm/clojure/lang/IReduce.java

Groetjes Albert
--
Don't praise the day before the evening. One swallow doesn't make spring.
You must not say "hey" before you have crossed the bridge. Don't sell the
hide of the bear until you shot it. Better one bird in the hand than ten in
the air. First gain is a cat spinning. - the Wise from Antrim -

On 2023-09-23, albert@cherry.(none) (albert) <albert@cherry> wrote:
> I study the source of clojure:
>
> / ------------------------------------------
> /**
> * Copyright (c) Rich Hickey. All rights reserved.
> The use and distribution terms for this software are covered by the
> * Eclipse Public License 1.0 (http://opensource.org/licenses/eclipse-1.0.php)
> * which can be found in the file epl-v10.html at the root of this distribution.
> * By using this software in any fashion, you are agreeing to be bound by
> * the terms of this license.
> * You must not remove this notice, or any other, from this software.
> **/
>
> /* rich Jun 11, 2008 */
>
> package clojure.lang;
>
> public interface IReduce extends IReduceInit{
> Object reduce(IFn f) ;
> }
> / ------------------------------------------
>
> Really? Can we be forced to look at copyright before we can use
> this? Can this trivial code really be copyrighted?

It's very common for software projects to have unform copyright headers
plastered into every file.

This applies to proprietary, commercial software as well as free open
source.

I've never worked in a company in which every source file we developed
didn't have a copyright block on the top, no matter how trivial the
content.

Pretty trivial works are copyrightable, like simple-minded pop songs.

> Note that the copyright message dwarfs the code.

The code looks like it is only an interface specification; i.e.
it defines an API and not any program behavior.

Copyrighting API's is a form of monopolistic abuse.

It was the subject of a lawsuit between Oracle and Google.

Read all about it here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/API#Dispute_over_copyright_protection_for_APIs

(And in fact that involved Java, not that it matters.)

The latest scoop is that Oracle kept appealing this all the way to
the U.S. Supreme Court and lost; the court decided that Google's cloning
of APIs isn't infringing.

Whether or not APIs are copyrightable, projects are going to stick their
copyright header on files that define APIs, and simply copy-pasting
their exact definition (especially including the copyright header, doh!)
could be infringing.

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