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From: tessler@dbase.UUCP (Steven Tessler)
Newsgroups: misc.legal,comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.apple
Subject: Windows/Mac Copyrights
Message-ID: <337@dbase.UUCP>
Date: 28 Mar 88 06:37:15 GMT
References: <5480@well.UUCP> <4092@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu> <1719@pasteur.Berkeley.Edu> <1454@csib.csi.UUCP> <7987@sol.ARPA> <4795@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU> <1457@csib.csi.UUCP>
Reply-To: tessler@dbase.UUCP (Steven Tessler)
Organization: Ashton Tate Devlopment Center Glendale, Calif.
Lines: 12

You can copyright the expression of an idea but not an idea.

For example,  if program 'A' is a check book balancing program
and program 'B' is also a check book balancing program and both
programs "look and feel" similar but the source code is substantially
different then both programs are different expressions of a like idea.
Neither program 'A' or program 'B' is a copy of one another so how
could a copyright of program 'A' be infringed by program 'B'?

The issue of "Look and Feel" being copyrightable has not been established
concretely.  The Lotus suit against '123' clone 'VP Planner' by Paperback 
Software is still in litigation.