As EFF reported last week, the FAA finally released the names of the government agencies which have applied for and received authorization to fly drones in the US. Previously, the FAA had kept this information secret, and the agency only released it in response to EFF’s lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act.
Unfortunately, the list did not include what types of drones were authorized to fly in U.S. airspace, what they were being used for, and what type of information they were collecting. The list may be incomplete as well. The FAA has promised to release more information soon, and EFF will publish that information as soon as it becomes available.
Shucks. No LoC on this list.
Here’s the problem: Treating APIs as copyrightable would have a profound negative impact on interoperability, and, therefore, innovation. APIs are ubiquitous and fundamental to all kinds of program development. It is safe to say that all software developers use APIs to make their software work with other software. For example, the developers of an application like Firefox use APIs to make their application work with various OSes by asking the OS to do things like make network connections, open files, and display windows on the screen. Allowing a party to assert control over APIs means that a party can determine who can make compatible and interoperable software, an idea that is anathema to those who create the software we rely on everyday. Put clearly, the developer of a platform should not be able to control add-on software development for that platform.
Pictures from Oymyakon, a small village located in the north-eastern Russian Republic of Sakha. Oymyakon boasts an average winter temperature of -49 ºF, with a one-time world record low of -96.16 ºF.
On November 4, 2008, water rose over Kaixian, China, ending its history of nearly 2000 years. Located on the Yangtze River, 180 miles upstream from the Three Gorges Dam — the largest water control project ever built — Kaixian was the final town submerged by the dam’s reservoir. By that day in November, the reservoir had claimed more than 150 cities and towns and 1300 villages, displacing an estimated 1.3 million people.
