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From: timothym@tekigm2.TEK.COM (Timothy D Margeson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.hp
Subject: Trial by JURY
Message-ID: <2722@tekigm2.TEK.COM>
Date: 24 Mar 88 22:10:43 GMT
References: <2245176c@ralf.home> <1008@bcd-dyn.UUCP>
Reply-To: timothym@tekigm2.UUCP (Timothy D Margeson)
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton, OR.
Lines: 41
cc: timothym@tekigm2


Hi,

Okay, my two cents on the Apple vs. HP/Microsoft.  Some have mentioned that
IBM should also get into the suit, offering support in the attorneys ring.
This sounds good on the surface, until you realize a small point in the
suit filed. A jury.

What this means is that all Apple has to do is prove, in layman's terms, and
layman's eyes, the MAC interface and Windows 2.X and New Wave look alike.
This is all that is required to win a copyright case.

Now, add to this trial by jury a small, helpless company like Apple, being
robbed of it's profits by the GIANTs MicroSoft, Hewlett Packard (and just
think if IBM were invovled). Oh, that poor Apple (say's the jury).

So, you can be sure Apple will want momma joe, a farmers wife from Froth,
Kentucky on the jury, but not tom, a computer literate from Houston, Texas.
Be sure, Apple WILL be able to select the jury, or at least deny ANY of those
possible jury members whom might understand the real differences they should
be looking for in a copyright case.

Apple probable will win this case, but even if they don't, they can then use
the case as a precent and copy like hell anything they want. So, it's a win
win, case for Apple, and lose lose for HP and MS. IBM too for that matter.
A third benefit from the case, win or lose, is that Apple will slow down any
developement of Presentation Manager, 3rt party Windows applications and the
like.

Apple is not being dumb by any means. Also remember they won a similar suit
against Digital Research. SO a precent in Apples favor already exists. Another
case, similar to this, was Microstuff (Crosstalk) vs. Mirror (a Crosstalk 
clone). Microstuff won on the look and feel aspects of the case, lost on the
aspects. So Mirror was changed so that the screens didn't look like Crosstalks,
but everything else worked the same. Including the script language.


-- 
Tim Margeson (206)253-5240
PO Box 3500  d/s C1-937                          @@   'Who said that?'  
Vancouver, WA. 98668
{amd..hplabs}cae780!tektronix!tekigm2!timothym (this changes daily)