Copyright infringement

lawsuit(1988-1994)lawsuit(1988-1994)

Presented by:

MANOJKUMAR S

1RV14ME411

Court : United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Full case name : Apple Computer, Inc. v. Microsoft Corporation

and Hewlett-Packard Co.

Citation(s) : 35 F.3d 1435; 63 USLW 2259, 1994 Copr.L.Dec. P

27,301, 32 U.S.P.Q.2d 1086

� Apple Computer, Inc. vs. Microsoft Corporation, 35 F.3d � Apple Computer, Inc. vs. Microsoft Corporation, 35 F.3d 1435 (9th Cir. 1994) was a copyright infringement lawsuit in which Apple Computer, Inc. (now Apple Inc.) sought to prevent Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard from using visual graphical user interface (GUI) elements that were similar to those in Apple's Lisa and Macintosh operating systems.

� The lawsuit was filed in 1988 and lasted four years; the decision was affirmed on appeal in 1994.

The Famous Apple vs. Microsoft

lawsuit over Windows

� Apple introduces the first commercial computer

using a GUI, in 1983, based on pioneering work

done by Xerox

� Microsoft was set to introduce Windows 1.0 in � Microsoft was set to introduce Windows 1.0 in

1985 and entered into an agreement with Apple

to license and sub-license certain aspects of the

GUI interface

� In return, Apple was granted use of certain

Microsoft products for its computers

� Apple claimed the "look and feel" of the Macintosh operating system, taken as

a whole, was protected by copyright, and that each individual element of the

interface. such as,

� The existence of windows on the screen, the rectangular appearance of

windows, windows could be resized, overlap, and have title bars.

� Apple listed 189 GUI elements; the court decided that 179 of these elements

had been licensed to Microsoft in the Windows 1.0 agreement and most of the

remaining 10 elements were not copyrightable.

Apple vs. Microsoft

remaining 10 elements were not copyrightable.

� Midway through the suit, Xerox filed a lawsuit against Apple claiming Apple

had infringed copyrights Xerox held on its GUIs. Xerox had invited the

Macintosh design team to view their GUI computers at the PARC research lab;

these visits had been very influential on the development of the Macintosh

GUI.

� Xerox's lawsuit appeared to be a defensive move to ensure that if Apple v.

Microsoft established that "look and feel" was copyrightable, then Xerox

would be the primary beneficiary, rather than Apple. The Xerox case was

dismissed, for a variety of legal reasons.

Windows 1.0 GUI

Desktop with applications in Windows 1.01. The screenshot has an extra border (remove) and wrong aspect ratio (correct).Desktop with applications in Windows 1.01. The screenshot has an extra border (remove) and wrong aspect ratio (correct).

Windows 3.0

Apple vs. Microsoft

� On September 19, 1994, the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld by a 3-0 vote a Federal District Court’s 1992 ruling that Microsoft’s Windows and displays (or graphical user interfaces) did not violate Apple’s copyrights in its Macintosh screen display

� the District Court ruled that over 90 percent of Windows was within the scope of the original 1985 license agreement

� It concluded that the remaining elements, such as various icons, were primarily graphical symbols representing generic ideas or purely functional components of the program, or were insufficiently original functional components of the program, or were insufficiently original to merit copyright protection

� The court ruled that, "Apple cannot get patent-like protection for the idea of a graphical user interface, or the idea of a desktop metaphor [under copyright law]...".

� Apple lost all claims in the Microsoft suit except for the ruling that the trash can icon and folder icons from Hewlett-Packard's NewWavewindows application were infringing.

� A major flaw in Apple’s case was that Xerox was the inspiration for both Apple and Microsoft’s efforts.