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Writing the phone book can be a creative process according to some patent/copyright lawyers.
The US Constitution says that one of the enumerated powers of Congress is
"To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."
An API is neither a discovery nor a writing. Of course, over the years, the meaning of this particular phrase has been stretched beyond all recognition by various lawyers looking to see exactly what they could get away with (answer, a whole lot), but the initial meanings of the words are pretty clear.
You can't patent the concept of a 6 mm bolt nor can you file a patent that covers all wrenches that would fit a 6 mm bolt, though plenty of lawyers have tried. That is the equivalent of copywriting an API. Software simply isn't an invention nor is a work of art, any more than building a specific bridge is an invention or a work of art. They didn't try to copyright or patent the Brooklyn Bridge.
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