🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <kh1osqINNd76@agate.berkeley.edu>, adam@soda.berkeley.edu (Adam J Richter) writes...
In article <kh1osqINNd76@agate.berkeley.edu>, you write...
>In article <31OCT199101462431@minnie.me.udel.edu> johnston@minnie.me.udel.edu (Bill Johnston) writes:
>>The issues in the Apple-Microsoft lawsuit have been discussed ad nauseum, 
>>and the details are complex, but neither company is challenging the concept of 
                                   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>user-interface copyrights, and neither company is applying a double standard.
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>	Wow.  When did Microsoft and HP drop their claims that the
>kind of infringement that Apple was claiming simply isn't covered by
>copyright law?  

Wow, indeed.  Haven't heard from Adam since he sent me that great button 
showing Apple Computer as a giant snake with bared fangs!  Boy, that was
convincing;  if he had sent one to John Sculley I'm sure they'd have 
dropped the lawsuit by now.

But Adam's comment is irrelevant to the point made and underlined above.  
The Apple vs. Microsoft/HP lawsuit is not a test case on the principle 
of validity of UI copyright, and no amount of posturing will make it so.

The legal dispute concerns the terms of an agreement that MS signed 
with Apple to license parts of their user interface.  It may be that 
MS and HP have claimed that the specific claims made by Apple are not 
covered by copyright law, but that is not the same as denying that 
user interface copyrights are legitimate.

The act of making such an agreement acknowledges that legitimacy of
user interface copyright, and specifically acknowledges that Apple
owned rights to the material licensed. 

IBM has also licensed aspects of the Apple Macintosh user interface.
It previously licensed the copyrighted NeXTStep user interface.

The "Good Guy/Bad Guy" ploy may be a convenient rallying point for LPF,
but there is little difference between the major players when it comes
to user interface copyright.  Indeed, if one considers the REAL issue,
their is little difference between what the companies are willing to 
do to protect market share. 

-- Bill (johnston@minnie.me.udel.edu)