Judge Narrows Apple Suit Against Two Competitors

A federal judge issued a tentative ruling Friday that would substantially narrow Apple Computer’s copyright suit that accuses fellow computer industry giants Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard of stealing basic features of Apple’s Macintosh personal computer system.

The suit centers on the graphics display features pioneered by the Macintosh that have been credited with making the computer easy to use. Other computer makers and software publishers have been following the case closely because it is expected to establish precedents on the critical issue of what type of software concepts are in the public domain and what can be copyrighted.

In his proposed decision, U.S. District Judge William Schwarzer said software elements covered in a 1985 licensing agreement between Apple and Microsoft were “out of the case” and could not be used as evidence against more recent software programs from Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard, which Apple claims violate its copyrights.

The ruling does not prohibit Apple from proceeding with the suit, but it will make it more difficult for Apple to prove that software programs developed by Microsoft and H-P illegally imitate the “look and feel” of the Apple Macintosh.

The Apple-Microsoft licensing agreement covered an early version of Microsoft’s Windows program, and Schwarzer ruled that the individual display symbols covered by that agreement could not be used as evidence of a current copyright violation. That apparently means that the jury would not be allowed to consider those items in determining whether the latest version of Windows is a copyright violation.

Microsoft attorney John Marshall said the ruling rendered the suit “very small,” and added: “Out of this great mass of visual displays that make up the product, 90% are licensed.” The remainder, Microsoft claims, are basic concepts that cannot be copyrighted.

But Apple maintains that elements that were not part of the licensing agreement, including the use of overlapping windows and the arrangement of symbols on the screen, are the keys to the case.

The legal issue revolves around whether these elements perform functions that could be done in many different ways, in which case they are copyrightable “expressions,” or whether they are the only way to do something, in which case they are public domain “ideas.”

Analysts had mixed views on Friday’s ruling, with some predicting doom for Apple’s position and others claiming that the judge’s order had little significance. Microsoft’s stock rose on the news, but few expect the case to have significant financial impact on any of the parties.

Schwarzer is expected to issue a written ruling next week, and a hearing on the remaining Apple claims was set for Sept. 8.