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From: lim@iris.ucdavis.edu (Lloyd Lim)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: Apple's claim to GUI upheld; suit vs. Microsoft/HP is closer to trial
Message-ID: <8516@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu>
Date: 9 Mar 91 12:58:14 GMT
References: <6944@idunno.Princeton.EDU>
Sender: usenet@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu
Reply-To: lim@iris.ucdavis.edu (Lloyd Lim)
Organization: U.C. Davis - Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Lines: 40

In article <6944@idunno.Princeton.EDU> swryder@pucc (Scott Ryder) writes:
>I found this news on the public AppleShare server that the Apple
>Student Representative on this campus maintains; apparently it was
>released only a matter of hours ago.  The implications of this are
>staggering.

It's not really that staggering, read it a little closer.

>CUPERTINO, California--March 6, 1991--Apple Computer, Inc. today
>announced that Judge Vaughn Walker of the U.S. District Court in San
>Francisco has strengthened Apple's case by clearing the way for a
>trial in Apple's copyright infringement suit against Microsoft and
>Hewlett-Packard.  The judge denied motions from Microsoft and
>Hewlett-Packard and upheld Apple's claim that the Macintosh computer
>audio-visual displays are original to Apple.  The judge also held that
>the major portions of Macintosh audio-visual displays--overlapping
>windows and icons--are not licensed to Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard.
>
>[...]
>
>Judge Walker's decision today did not determine the issue of copyright
>infringement, which will be resolved in the next phase of litigation.
>A status conference will be held to determine the schedule for the
>resolution of the remaining issues in the case.

To very loosely describe what has happened, the judge said that the Macintosh
interface is different from Xerox's work and that most of the Macintosh
interface was not included in the old license with Microsoft.

The really interesting part, on copyright infringement and whether the
audi-visual display can be copyrighted, will take place during the trial.
I think most people want this trial to happen so that there will be some
kind of major decision on the issue.  (Lots of people support such copyright
protection and lots of people don't.)

+++
Lloyd Lim     Internet: lim@iris.eecs.ucdavis.edu
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