Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att-cb!att-ih!pacbell!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!hplabs!sdcrdcf!ism780c!darryl
From: darryl@ism780c.UUCP (Darryl Richman)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Apple Challenges HP New Wave, MS-Windows, Potentially OS/2 PM
Message-ID: <9613@ism780c.UUCP>
Date: 3 Apr 88 00:06:14 GMT
References: <3096@gryphon.CTS.COM>
Reply-To: darryl@ism780c.UUCP (Darryl Richman)
Organization: Interactive Systems Corp., Santa Monica CA
Lines: 33

In article <3096@gryphon.CTS.COM> richard@gryphon.CTS.COM (Richard Sexton) writes:
>This weeks _Time_ magazine (April 4, 1988) has an article on this subject
>on page 60.
>
>Inset are photos of the mac screen and a windows screen.
>I would say the little scroll arrow things in the corners are *similar*
>but not identical.

The question of law here is: are they "substantially similar", as judged by
a "reasonable man"?

>The little page icons though do look identical, but how many ways can you
>exactly express an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper with a notch turned down ?

This is something that the jury will decide.  Precedent says that if it IS
the only way, or anyone trying to display this concept would have to do at
least that, then Apple will lose here.  But if there are alternative ways,
they win.

>The other point I'd like to make about this is if you talk to noncomputer
>people about it, a lot of them say: "I thought one of the things you
>computer types wanted to do is make 'em all look the same so if you
>go to another computer you still know how to use it ?" (paraphrased)

Then we computer types had better agree amongst ourselves that we are doing
this, rather than just looking for somebody's good work to copy.

		--Darryl Richman
-- 
Copyright (c) 1988 Darryl Richman. The views expressed are the author's alone.
	  INTERACTIVE Systems Corporation -- An Eastman Kodak Company
       ...!{cca!ima | sdcrdcf}!ism780c!darryl or darryl@ism780c.isc.com
"I'm disappointed too, but keep in mind that Transmogrification is a new technology." --Calvin