jacobs@cs.utah.edu (Steven R. Jacobs) (12/19/89)
In article <111700188@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu> krb20699@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu writes: >>One reason Xerox is sueing Apple now may be that Xerox was (fairly) recently >>awarded patents on the Star operating environment. Patent infringements are >>usually more easily proven than copyright ones. >> >> Just a thought. >> >>| Todd Miller - millert@tramp.Colorado.EDU > > Wouldn't a recent patent be a bit worthless in court, considering when > Apple created the Mac, it wan't infringing in a patent? Why would the Mac > interface be damaging Xerox _only_ after they get a patent? I can see Apple > loosing copyright rights (I'm no lawyer) but $150 million? "Just a thought." Patent rights are granted based on the date of the patent application, not the date that the patent is finally approved. This is why the phrase "patent pending" is sometimes effective in preventing theft of ideas. Many battles over patent infringements occur after the original patents have expired. -- Steve Jacobs ({bellcore,hplabs,uunet}!utah-cs!jacobs, jacobs@cs.utah.edu)