#Xerox Sues Apple!
XEROX SUES APPLE FOR $150 MILLION
(Dec. 15)
Xerox Corp. has filed a $150 million federal lawsuit in San Francisco against
Apple Computer Inc., alleging that Xerox graphics programs from the mid- 1970s
and early 1980s were copied for the Apple Macintosh computer line and for
Apple's earlier, less-successful Lisa system.
The suit contends both the Mac and the Lisa were derived from two Xerox
programs, the 1970s Smalltalk and Star, copyrighted in 1981.
…..
The complaint also alleges Apple employees saw the Star program at a trade
show in Houston in June 1981 and copied substantial portions in the Lisa and
Mac software, allegedly including design and appearance of the main application
windows, dialog boxes and menu and some of the icons used in the program.
Xerox claims Apple gained unauthorized access to copyrighted material by
hiring several Xerox employees in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including
Star software developers.
….
For more of this story, GO OLT-155!
PS: hmmmm. If Xerox wins, then would that by default mean all windowing systems
loosely based on Xerox or Mac stuff is in trouble? Something to think about!