Abstract
LL.M. (Intellectual Property Law)
Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) have grown in popularity as a useful tool for conducting business, obtaining information, entertainment, and, most importantly, innovation and development in the technology industry. As a result, these prized works need to be protected, if only so that its creators and owners can reap the rewards of their creative and innovative efforts. However, this legal protection appears to be a long-standing source of contention. Some commentators support API protection, while others argue that developers should have free and open access to APIs. This dissertation investigates the contemporary scope of API protection to determine whether it is available and adequate, and, if not, to make recommendations for revisions to that protection. Although copyright law in the United States of America purports to cover APIs, its courts have found that this protection is severely limited due to the functional nature of APIs. Although, it is widely accepted that copyright law only protects the literal aspects of an API; the protection of its non-literal elements has proved contentious. This is primarily due to the specific exclusion stated in s 102(b) of the United States Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C., which disqualifies, among other things, ideas, processes, and methods of operation. APIs are classified as “methods of operation” and thus fall under this exclusionary category. There appears to be little to no research in this area in the South African legal framework and this study seeks to contribute to this field of development. This dissertation recommends that APIs be protected under the Copyright Act 98 of 1978, despite the fact that they are not specifically mentioned in the statute. This is because the definition of computer programs is broad enough to include the literal elements of APIs. However, because of its breadth and the fact that it does not require literary value for a work to be considered eligible for copyright protection, it is recommended non-literal aspects of an API should be protected under the literary works clause of the Copyright Act 98 of 1978.