on Adversarial Interoperability

Doctorow distinguishes indifferent, cooperative, and adversarial interoperability, where a new product connects to an incumbent’s system without its permission. He points to Samba, which replicated Microsoft’s SMB networking protocol, and Apple’s reverse engineering of Microsoft file formats for iWork as examples that helped rival platforms work with office systems.

Doctorow argues that software patents, the DMCA, terms of service, and related legal claims have made compatibility work riskier for new companies. He says founders can create products that let people use incumbent platforms while shifting some activity elsewhere, and cites Mint’s bank-site scraping and HiQ’s LinkedIn scraping dispute as examples. He notes that legal outcomes are uncertain and says he is not a lawyer.

Doctorow supports having rules for the entertainment industry but argues that copyright rules built for industrial copying are a poor fit for everyday internet use, where data is routinely copied. He proposes clearer allowances for some uses alongside flexible fair-use principles, using the commercial novel The Wind Done Gone as an example of transformative criticism. He distinguishes industrial uses from cultural ones, while recognizing that some cases are difficult to classify.

Doctorow says dominant platforms invoke their scale to justify their power, while concentration can reduce competition and make firms’ interests converge. He connects distrust in institutions to weakened truth-seeking processes and regulatory capture, using chemical waste standards in West Virginia as an example. He argues that smaller, more pluralistic systems can make room for alternatives and resilience.

Doctorow describes science fiction as a way to explore possible futures and influence what people choose to build, rather than predict what must happen. He suggests founders look for growing pressure around problems such as climate risk and platform dependence, and build for recovery and resilience. He argues that interoperability can help people move gradually from incumbent platforms without requiring everyone to leave at once.