knighten@pinocchio (Bob Knighten) (12/04/89)
The December issue of The Reflector ("Published by the Boston Section of the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers for the IEEE Central New
England Council") contains a short article by Joseph S. Iandiorio, a Patent,
Trademark Copyright Attorney entitled "Look and Feel" Approach Instrumental in
Finding of Infringement of Software Copyright.
The case discussed is Manufacturers Technologies, Inc., v. Cams, et al. (D.C.
Conn. 1989). The key claim in the article is "Under the `look and feel'
theory of infringement the infringer need not have copied the coding, need not
even have produced the software in the same language or for the same computer.
If the look and feel of the software, if the screen sequence and flow is
similar, then there can be infringement." And that on the basis of such
reasoning an injunction was granted forbiding the infringer to make,
advertise, sell, lease or license the infringing software.
--
Bob Knighten
Encore Computer Corp., 257 Cedar Hill Street, Marlborough, MA 01752
Internet: knighten@encore.com (508) 460-0500 ext. 2626
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