Copyright Protection of Application Programme Interfaces: An Analysis of the Sri Lankan Position

Abstract

Application program interfaces (APIs) are ubiquitous in our digital experience as they are responsible for ensuring interoperability between software. However, the applicability of copyright law to APIs has become a point of significant contention. Last year the Supreme Court of the United States granted a writ of certiorari to review the U.S. Court of Appeals’ rulings on whether such software interfaces attract copyright protection and whether the use of an existing software interface in creating a new program constitutes fair use. The questions raised in these legal proceedings have far ranging implications for the practices and business models of the software industry and any other businesses that rely on APIs for network effects. This paper provides an overview of the debate surrounding copyright protection of APIs and then analyses the Sri Lankan Intellectual Property Act, No. No. 36 of 2003 and case law relating to copyright law within the country to consider the position of APIs under the existing Sri Lankan intellectual property regime. The analysis reveals that there are several ambiguities and open questions under the Sri Lankan copyright regime which create uncertainty as to whether APIs attract copyright protection. Further, it is unclear as to the applicability of the defence of fair use to allow copying of APIs in limited circumstances in the event of copyright protection. This gives rise to the same questions of law raised in the Google v Oracle proceedings. As such, it is recommended that the Legislature intervene and provide guidance to address the uncertainty created for the country’s software industry and other businesses reliant on APIs.