First, even assuming lotus was aware or should have been aware of key reader in 238 quattro pro 2. The software strings together commands that enable 123 to perform tasks that otherwise would. The translation in this volume is based upon kumarajivas chinese work. Lotus was founded in 1982 by partners mitch kapor and jonathan sachs with backing from ben rosen. Paperback software international and stephenson software, ltd. Both of these companies had also copied the 123 command structure. Judge keetons ruling in lotus development corporation v. In june 1990, federal court judge keeton ruled in favor of lotus. Software and copyright law readings ethics and the law.
Jun 29, 1990 the case, which lotus brought against two of its small challengers, paperback software international and mosaic software inc. Lotus s suit was assigned to judge robert keeton, who had already spent several years considering the very same legal issues that would arise in the borland case in lotus s infringement suit against two smaller companies, paperback software intl and mosaic software. Judge keeton had already considered identical legal arguments, pro and con, in lotus s infringement suit againstpaperback software intl and mosaic software. Lotuss first product was presentation software for the apple ii known as lotus executive briefing system.
Oct 18, 1990 the lotus development corporation said today that it had reached an outofcourt settlement with paperback software international and stephenson software ltd. Introduction just as computers2 have become an integral element of the legal. The case, which lotus brought against two of its small challengers, paperback software international and mosaic software inc. Lotus corporation sued paperback in 1987, arguing that one of paperbacks programs infringed on the lotus 123 program. Special upgrade offer for users of lotus 123, quattro pro, and microsoft excel version 3. The lotus sutra is one of the most important sutras in mahayana buddhism. Analysis of the copyrightability of the look and feel of a.
Paperback software international ended three years of intense debate over whether certain elements specifically, the look and feel of lotus spreadsheet program, lotus 123, were able, and, if so, whether or not paperback s. The following material on this decision is on reserve for the course. Lotus responds that it was satisfied that borland knew of the infringement claims because of 1 phillipe kahns borlands chairmans strong public reaction condemning lotus for filing the paperback 220 case, and 2 a public statement lotus issued before quattro was shipped, that appeared in the may 26, 1987 issue of pc magazine exh. In paperback, lotus claimed that vp planner infringed upon lotus 123 in that it contained substantially similar elementsora on june 28, 1990, a district court held the. Lavenue if i have seen further it is by standing on ye shoulders of giants. Consumers liked lotus 123 because it had an easily understood, perhaps even intuitive, format and menu of commands. Both of these companies had also copied the 123 command structure, claiming that it was perfectly legal for them to do so. Lotus won, and both companies went out of business. Paperback software international marketed a competing program, vpplanner, that was meant to allow the user to operate as if. It was translated into chinese by kumarajiva in 406 under the title. Discover book depositorys huge selection of lotus smartsuite books online.
We draw from that analysis and summarize its key points. Introduction just as computers2 have become an integral element of. At the core of defendants asserted prejudice is the following contention advanced by paperbacks former president. In 1990, lotus obtained relief in the united states district court for the district of massachusetts for infringement of the same by pa. Lotus improv novel design that went beyond a1 notation. In deciding the case, judge keeton made a careful argument that served as a new precedent. Paperback software international and subcontractor stephenson software ltd. On petition for a writ of certiorari to the united states court of appeals for the first circuit brief in opposition to petition for certiorari introduction and summary the court of appeals in this case held that the commands used to operate a computer. This drove consumer and investor confidence spiraling downward for paperback, and lotus won the suit in 1990. Paperback software international by richard a magnan book lotus file formats for 123, symphony and jazz. Lotus 123 is a discontinued spreadsheet program from lotus software later part of ibm. The ruling did not resolve the issue of whether law protects user interfaces. The lotus development corporation said today that it had reached an outofcourt settlement with paperback software international and. Us district judge robert keeton wrote that the user interface of 123 is its most unique element and is the aspect that has made 123 so popular.
Recently, lotus was successful in a similar suit against paperback software international and stephenson software. If lotus had sued paperback within three or four months after the release of vpplanner, then paperback would not have continued to market. Judge keeton had already considered identical legal arguments, pro and con, in lotuss infringement suit againstpaperback software intl and mosaic software. The software strings together commands that enable 12. Three days earlier, on the morning after the paperback decision, borland had filed a declaratory judgment action against lotus in the northern district of california, seeking a declaration of noninfringement. Factual background the user interface of the plaintiffs spreadsheet product consisted in part of a highlighted screen display resembling an l rotated ninety degrees clockwise with letters across the top to designate columns, and numbers down the left side to designate rows, the. It was the ibm pcs first killer application, was hugely popular in the 1980s and contributed significantly to the success of the ibm pc. The chinese title means sutra of the lotus flower of the wonderful dharma. Look and feel in computer software computerlaw group, llp. Copyrightability for the user interface of computer software in the united states and the international realm. Lotus 123 took the market from visicalc in the early 1980s. Last summers ruling in lotus development corporation v. Paperback software international ended three years of intense debate over whether certain elements specifically, the look and feel of lotus spreadsheet program, lotus 123, were able, and, if.
Mitchell david kapor born november 1, 1950 is an american entrepreneur best known for his work as an application developer in the early days of the personal computer software industry, later founding lotus, where he was instrumental in developing the lotus 123 spreadsheet. In that suit, federal district court judge robert keaton issued a 1page decision that said the user interface of 123, including the structure, sequence, and organization of the programs menus, is able. Computer programs, user interfaces, and section 102b of. The supreme courts landmark ruling lotus development corp vs paperback software international is critiqued. Sandisk ssd plus 240gb internal ssd sata iii 6 gbs, 2. Visicalc the first widely used normal spreadsheet with a1 notation etc.
Lo staff dear customers, lotuss staff is operational even if in reduced form and in smartworking mode, the. Paperback software in january 1987, lotus development corporation filed suit against paperback software for alleged infringement of software on lotus 123 program by its vpplanner spreadsheet program. Paperback software international,4 the district court of massachusetts held that protection in the plaintiffs popular lotus 123 spreadsheet program extended to elements of the user interface. Kapor founded lotus after leaving his post as head of development at visicorp, the distributors of the visicalc spreadsheet, and selling all his rights to visiplot and. This case summaries is brought to you for free and open access by the college of law at via sapientiae. Copyrightability for the user interface of computer software in the united states and the international realm lionel m. District court, district of massachusetts, june 28, 1990. In 1990, a landmark case was decided that modified the criteria for protection. Lotus s first product was presentation software for the apple ii known as lotus executive briefing system. The district courts opinion in lotus development corp. Lotus, which makes the bestselling computer accounting program lotus 123, is suing competitors paperback software international and mosaic marketing inc. In paperback, lotus claimed that vp planner infringed upon lotus 123 in that it contained substantially similar elementsora on june 28, 1990, a district court held the lotus 123s menu structure.
Paperback software international and stephenson software, limited, defendants. Software and copyright law readings ethics and the law on. At the core of defendants asserted prejudice is the following contention advanced by paperback s former president. In january of 1987, lotus development filed suit against paperback software and separately against mosaic software claiming that each defendant had developed an infringing clone of the now famous lotus 123 spreadsheet software. Osborne stepped down from the company shortly thereafter. None of the source code or machine code that generated the menus was copied, but the names of the commands and the organization of those commands into a hierarchy were virtually identical. Lotus development corporation v paperback software international. Both of these companies had also copied the 123 command structure, claiming that it. Paperback software had folded, and lotus 123 had itself faced intense competition from microsoft windows and microsoft excel. Nov 10, 2015 the lotus sutra is one of the most important sutras in mahayana buddhism.
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