Oracle (News - Alert) is making a move that would allow it to copyright certain Java APIs. That move has been officially protested by nearly three dozen computer science experts and workers in a court briefing. PC World reports that the scientists believe that Oracle’s impending move would be a setback for the computer industry as a whole. The copyright move would also be a blow towards affordable technologies for end users, according to the group.

The opposition to Oracle came in the form of an amicus brief that was issued in support of Google’s (News - Alert) lawsuit against Oracle. The group of computer scientists includes some well known luminaries in the field such as MS-DOS author Tim Paterson and ARPANET developer and artist Larry Roberts. The battle between Oracle and Google is centered on some Java APIs that Oracle already believes it owns. Oracle claims that Google infringed on the application programming interfaces with their Android (News - Alert) operating system.

Google has argued that these APIs cannot be copyrighted because they are essential to the operation of Java. The search engine giant claimed that the interfaces in question are essential for running Java and must belong to the public at large. A district court in California agreed with Google and ruled against Oracle.

Last week, Oracle filed an official appeal despite the fact that it is generally accepted practice that copyright law does not extend to works that are “functional in nature.” Google and the group of scientists that have filed the Amicus Brief in support of Google’s case lay out that the APIs in question definitely fit under that definition.

Oracle is arguing that the structure of the Java APIs that are in dispute are complex enough that they are a creative work that should be protected.