Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!rutgers!cmcl2!yale!husc6!cfa!ward
From: ward@cfa.harvard.EDU (Steve Ward)
Newsgroups: comp.graphics
Subject: Re: Is it safe to write for OS/2 Presentation Manager
Summary: upcoming injunction hearing is the key...
Keywords: Apple interface, lawsuit
Message-ID: <954@cfa.cfa.harvard.EDU>
Date: 27 Mar 88 19:31:06 GMT
References: <17374@glacier.STANFORD.EDU>
Organization: Harvard-Smithsonian Ctr. for Astrophysics
Lines: 45

In article <17374@glacier.STANFORD.EDU>, jbn@glacier.STANFORD.EDU (John B. Nagle) writes:
> 
>       Given that Apple is now suing HP and Microsoft for copying the
> Apple user interface, is it legal to write applications for OS/2's
> Presentation Manager?  Will Apple be going after developers who use
> it?  Will IBM or Microsoft defend users of their product?  Has anyone
> looked into the legal issues on this?  It could be very risky to bring
> a Presentation Manager based product to market until this is cleared up.
> 
> 				John Nagle


Apple is requesting an immediate halt to all sales of the relevant HP
and Microsoft products which is Microsoft windows 2.03, presumably any
related OS/2 product(s) and the HP Wave windowing software.  This
request is being made through the courts via a request for an injunction
pending a full trial.  A hearing to rule on the request for an
injunction will be held in the near future.  One has to be a little
careful with news about injunctions in that often a judge will grant an
immediate injunction pending a short wait to the hearing to consider
imposing the injuction until the full trial, or in the legal jargon, a
hearing to consider making the injunction "permanent."  Permanent means
until the full trial.

If the injunction to prevent sales is granted until the full trial
(permanent) then it will be difficult if not impossible to promote and
sell products that depend on these HP and Microsoft products until a
final resolution is readed in an out of court settlement or via a
full trial.  Personally, I doubt if such an injunction will be granted.
If the injunction is not granted then the market is open.  Obviously,
Apple can sue anybody at anytime, including developers.  This is
doubtful to happen if the grounds for the suit are the same, and in
any case it would then be easy for HP and/or Microsoft to request a
class action in the present lawsuit and/or via a countersuit, giving
them a way to provide an umbrella legal defense to others being sued,
should HP or Microsoft care to do this.  Note that this would not
indemnify anyone against possible losses if the case is lost.

If the injunction is not granted then it is likely that Apple will
ultimately lose the court case, if history is a good indicator.  Of
course, this should only be taken as my personal guess.  Who knows
what lurks in the mind of judges.  The fact is that there is no
real body of law or court cases which are directly applicable to
this court case.  Of course, it is the lawyers' job to convince the
judge otherwise....