tim@hoptoad.uucp (Tim Maroney) (12/15/89)
Reuters
Giant Xerox Corp. said yesterday that it has filed a lawsuit against
Apple Computer Inc. seeking more than $150 million for unlawful use of
Xerox software and charging its rival with copyright misrepresentation.
Cupertino-based Apple, the big personal computer maker, denied the
charge and said it would respond, probably within 30 days.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, claims that
Apple's Lisa and Macintosh software stems from work by Xerox that was
used by Apple witout permission.
Xerox also said it is seeking recognition that Xerox is the sole and
exclusive owner of all copyrights on its Star software.
Apple claims ownership of software that covers substantial parts of
Star and this has caused confusion in the market place, Xerox said.
However, an Apple spokeswoman said that "we believe the case is without
merit."
"It confuses the distinction between ideas and expression. Copyright
protects expression, not ideas," Apple spokeswoman Carleen Levasseur
said.
Levasseur said, "Apple has always acknowledged that the ideas come from
the industry, but it's our own unique expression."
The spokeswoman said that Apple "will certainly respond to the claims,
probably in 30 days."
Xerox wants the court to direct U.S. Copyright Office to cancel
registrations for Apple's Lisa and Macintosh software, saying Apple
intentionally hid their origins.
It said Apple unjustly received royalties, license fees and other
benefits in excess of $100 million that properly belong to Xerox.
These unfair business practices amount to more than $50 million in
damages, Xerox said.
It said efforts to reach an amicable settlement, including a proposal
for Apple to license the software from Xerox, were rebuffed.
--
Tim Maroney, Mac Software Consultant, sun!hoptoad!tim, tim@toad.com
"Don't talk to me about disclaimers! I invented disclaimers!"
- The Censored Hackeromh@cs.brown.edu (Owen M. Hartnett) (12/16/89)
Re: Xerox Sues Apple for $150 Million This one is big enough, and timed right, so that maybe all the big computer companies (including Apple), will wake up and realize that these lawsuits are first and foremost big *losers* for not only the companies involved, but the industry in general. The only one getting rich in these deals is the law firms, and the computer companies are paying the bills. I'd personally like to see an end to all "look and feel" copyrights, due to the inherent stupidity in the premise. While we're add it, let's get rid of software patents, too. This new, hi-tech lawyers tool can make a lot of software and hardware companies poor real fast. Well, that's enough soap box for now, Owen Owen Hartnett omh@cs.brown.edu.CSNET Brown University Computer Science omh@cs.brown.edu uunet!brunix!omh "Don't wait up for me tonight because I won't be home for a month."
gft_robert@gsbacd.uchicago.edu (12/17/89)
In article <23112@brunix.UUCP>, omh@cs.brown.edu (Owen M. Hartnett) writes... >Re: Xerox Sues Apple for $150 Million So will Xerox now sue Microsoft, 'cause Microsoft copied from Apple? :-> And honestly, don't NeXT, DecWindows and MOTIF owe a lot to STAR? Shouldn't they rightfully be sued too? In any case, I hope that all of you who have decried Apple for suing Microsoft will line up on Apple's side on this one. After all, fair's fair. I mean, are we supposed to call Xerox an evil corporate giant now? That's what a lot of y'all were calling Apple. This is getting a bit out of hand. Too much money to lawyers, as the previous poster noted. Robert ============================================================================ = gft_robert@gsbacd.uchicago.edu * generic disclaimer: * "It's more fun to = = * all my opinions are * compute" = = * mine * -Kraftwerk = ============================================================================