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And then they got into even more trouble when they sued Microsoft over IP they didn't own or invent.

No, what Apple sued MS for were interface elements and implementations of concepts that had been lifted directly from Mac OS and implemented in Windows!

Apple got in "trouble" because Steve had allowed access to the Mac OS without restriction or tight contract in place! That's why Apple couldn't win outright.

Apple was inspired by what they saw at Xerox Park, and paid for the access. But Apple developed their own code to implement the ideas that inspired them. The OS and interface developed by Apple went far beyond the one for the Alto -- it extended to the whole OS for a consistent UI across apps; and it introduced loads of new concepts, including floating and draggable windows that could overlay one another on the fly as the OS redrew them.

MS had direct access to the Mac OS in order to develop Word for Mac. There was no such thing as Windows -- it wasn't even a gleam in Bill's eye. Steve thought a gentleman's agreement was enough to keep Bill from lifting code and concepts from Mac OS and copying them. Steve was wrong, perhaps naive. Bill was acting to form as a sharp businessman incapable of originality or taste of his own. ...then calling it "Windows" -- the part that was actually developed by Apple -- is a little like someone starting a restaurant called Ronald's Large Macs.

As it happened, Windows wasn't really usable until '95, ten years later, even though it was literally handed to them on a platter; but the damage had been done. I guess MS is perpetually ten years behind, and still trying to freeze the enterprise with promises and vaporware that are never delivered.
 
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I'm guessing the law is like that for this reason: Company A demos a feature. Company B sees the feature, checks that it isn't patented, and so implements it too. Company A then patents the feature, meaning Company B now have to remove the feature again, awkward!

It makes some sense in that regard, but still seems weird you can invalidate your own patent like that.

It's like Germany is the anti-East district of Texas. :p
 
Ze Germanz

Why doesn't Apple just buy Germany?

Because the German economy is the 4th largest in the world and still 5 times bigger than Apple's top net worth... Cyprus is a cheap buy I heard... and very usable for offshore tax constructions. :)

Apple can try to buy them a monopoly on rubber production though... :p
 
Ach... no!

Opps...Some people may just have realized that the world is not flat and that Apple is not a country with a king.
 
And you wonder why the Europeans are so backwards. Case and point.

It's a pretty simple concept really - if you exhibit an invention to the public before seeking the protection of a patent, you can't patent it at a later date.

And yea, the Europeans ARE backwards - low rates of crime, no mass shootings, high rates of literacy, most provide University education that doesn't leave the student burdened with a life-long debt, universal healthcare for all citizens, progressive environmental policies and thousands of years of history and culture - it must be an absolute hell-hole :rolleyes:

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Apple was inspired by what they saw at Xerox Park,

PARC (Palo Alto Research Center).
 
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