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From: jas@ISI.EDU (Jeff Sullivan)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system
Subject: Re: Apple Computer wins ruling against 'Windows'
Message-ID: <17217@venera.isi.edu>
Date: 19 Mar 91 19:23:04 GMT
References: <46873@nigel.ee.udel.edu> <1991Mar15.101202.1@csc.anu.edu.au>
	<27E02D24.699@orion.oac.uci.edu>
	<1991Mar15.224201.2622@cpsc.ucalgary.ca> <706@newave.UUCP>
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In-reply-to: john@newave.UUCP's message of 17 Mar 91 05:50:35 GMT

In article <706@newave.UUCP> john@newave.UUCP (John A. Weeks III) writes:

>In article <1991Mar15.224201.2622@cpsc.ucalgary.ca> wieser@fsd.cpsc.ucalgary.ca (Bernhard Wieser) writes:
>> You refer to the wonderful LISP machine, the Xerox Star, but how can you
>> 'lift' (implied steal) anything when you have hired some of the people who
>> worked on the project?
>
>Most high-tech companies require employees to sign a confidentiality
>agreement that prohibits an employee to release any company information
>during or after employment.  Some companies go so far as to make claims
>on any "invention" that a former employee creates for a period of time
>after employment (1 to 5 years).

But, research institutions can't stop you from ever working in your
field after you leave them.  That was the point being made.  Nor can
they demand that you abandon all of the things you have learned while
working there, even if the specific research is owned (in whole or
part) by the institution, rather than the researcher.

>Even if you don't have an explicit agreement, there are trade secret 
>laws (in the USA, at least).  For example, a person might expect to be
>sued if they release the client list of a former employeer to a competitor.

But, Xerox was not releasing a consumer product.  Nor did they have
any real plans to.  They had tried to market their windowing computer
and it had not gone over very well.

If Apple tried to market the same thing, it would have flopped similarly.

--
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Jeffrey A. Sullivan		| Senior Systems Programmer
jas@venera.isi.edu		| Information Sciences Institute
jas@isi.edu                    	| University of Southern California