Any code that's written from scratch is automatically assigned copyright to the creator or their employer at the time of creation. API's are probably considered copyrighted by the courts but getting any kind of remedy for that will be exceedingly difficult after Google vs. Oracle.
> Id be angry as F too if a clone of my hard work appeared out of no where!
This happens literally all the time. I wouldn't recommend someone be a founder if this upsets them. No half-decent innovation isn't instantly cloned by 10 fly-by-night copycats and multiple large incumbents.