Apple Computer, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp. · US Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit · 1994

Does Apple own the desktop look?

Short answer: No: the idea of a desktop is free to use.

The facts. Apple sued Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard in 1988, saying Windows copied the look and feel of the Macintosh desktop: windows, icons, and menus. Apple had given Microsoft a license for some Windows 1.0 features years earlier.

The ruling. Apple v. Microsoft (1994): The court ruled against Apple. Most of the elements were licensed or unprotectable, and Apple could not get patent-like protection for the idea of a graphical interface.

Apple's own designs drew on ideas seen at Xerox PARC, which later sued Apple too. The case dragged on for about six years. In 1997, Apple and Microsoft made peace in a broader deal.

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For fun, not legal advice.