Court Rules Apple Software is Protected by Copyrights Laws

Court Rules Apple Software is Protected by Copyrights Laws

Dow Jones News Service

September 1, 1983

CUPERTINO, CALIF. -DJ- IN A PRECEDENT SETTING DECISION, A FEDERAL APPEALS COURT IN PHILADELPHIA RULED THAT SOFTWARE FOR THE APPLE II PERSONAL COMPUTER, INCLUDING PROGRAMS EMBEDDED ON SILICON CHIPS INSIDE THE MACHINE, IS SUBJECT TO THE PROTECTION OF COPYRIGHT LAWS.

"WE THINK THIS IS A VICTORY FOR THE COMPUTER-SOFTWARE INDUSTRY AS A WHOLE, AS WELL AS FOR APPLE," SAID ALBERT EISENSTATE, APPLE'S VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL COUNSEL. EXPERTS IN THE EMERGING FIELD OF COMPUTER-SOFTWARE LAW AGREED THAT THE DECISION WILL HELP PROTECT PROGRAMMING AND DISCOURAGE IMITATORS. SOME ALSO SAID IT WOULD RESULT IN CHANGES IN THE WAY COMPUTERS ARE MANUFACTURED.

"THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT DECISION," SAID SALLY STEURER, A LAWYER FOR MICROSOFT CORP., A MAJOR PRODUCER OF SOFTWARE FOR MANY MANUFACTURERS' PERSONAL COMPUTERS. "IT WILL UNDERCUT MANY OF THE STANDARD DEFENSES USED IN COPYRIGHT-INFRINGEMENT CASES INVOLVING SOFTWARE," SHE ADDED.

DANIEL T. BROOKS, HEAD OF COMPUTER LAW ADVISERS IN SUBURBAN WASHINGTON, D.C., PREDICTED THAT THE DECISION "WILL ENCOURAGE THE MIGRATION OF SOFTWARE FROM DISKETTES TO CHIPS." PROGRAMS ON DISKETTES HAVE LONG BEEN ACKNOWLEDGED TO BE SUBJECT TO COPYRIGHT PROTECTION. BROOKS SAID THE MOVE TO CHIPS WILL GREATLY IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY OF COMPUTERS, AS DATA CAN BE RETRIEVED 1,000 TIMES MORE QUICKLY FROM CHIPS THAN FROM DISKETTES.

THE DECISION CAME IN A CASE INVOLVING APPLE COMPUTER INC. AND FRANKLIN COMPUTER CORP. FRANKLIN, A CLOSELY HELD CHERRY HILL, N.J., CONCERN, MAKES TWO MODELS THAT CLOSELY RESEMBLE THE APPLE II AND APPLE IIE COMPUTERS.

THE DECISION IS A BLOW TO FRANKLIN AND OTHER MAKERS OF MACHINES SIMILAR TO THE APPLE II. BUT COMPUTER-INDUSTRY OFFICIALS SAID THE DECISION PROBABLY WOULDN'T AFFECT COMPANIES THAT MAKE MACHINES SIMILAR TO INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP.'S POPULAR PERSONAL COMPUTER. THAT'S BECAUSE IBM PUBLISHED MANY OF THE SPECIFICATIONS FOR ITS "OPEN ARCHITECTURE" MACHINE IN AN EFFORT TO PERSUADE INDEPENDENT SOFTWARE VENDORS TO WRITE PROGRAMS FOR THE IBM PC. APPLE, ON THE OTHER HAND, EMPHASIZES SALES OF ITS OWN BRANDED SOFTWARE.

"WE'VE HAD ABSOLUTELY NO INDICATION OF ANY NEGATIVITY OR ANIMOSITY FROM IBM," SAID KEN PRICES, MARKETING DIRECTOR OF COMPAQ COMPUTER CORP., A HOUSTON-BASED MAKER OF IBM-COMPATIBLE PERSONAL COMPUTERS.

STILL, "THIS DECISION WILL BE VERY COMFORTING TO ANY MANUFACTUERER WHO HAS DEVOTED CONSIDERABLE RESOURCES TO DEVELOPING A PROGRAM," SAID SUSAN NYCUM, A PALO ALTO, CALIF., ATTORNEY WHO SPECIALIZES IN COMPUTER SOFTWARE LAW.

THE COURT'S DECISION ALSO HELD THAT APPLE II'S OPERATING SYSTEM, A SET OF PROGRAMS THAT SERVES AS THE MACHINE'S "TRAFFIC COP" AND CONTROLS ITS BASIC FUNCTIONS, IS SUBJECT TO COPYRIGHT PROTECTION.

"THERE MERE FACT THAT THE OPERATING SYSTEM PROGRAM MAY BE ETCHED ON A READ-ONLY MEMORY, OR RAM, CHIP DOESN'T MAKE THE PROGRAM EITHER A MACHINE, PART OF A MACHINE, OR ITS EQUIVALENT," THE UNANIMOUS THREE-MEMBER PANEL RULED.

JOHN LAUTSCH, HEAD OF THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION'S COMPUTER-LAW DIVISION, NOTED THAT COPYRIGHT PROTECTION IS MUCH LONGER-LASTING THAN PATENT PROTECTION. APPLE'S COPYRIGHT WILL BE VALID FOR 75 YEARS, HE SAID: PATENTS ARE VALID ONLY FOR 17 YEARS. "IN EFFECT, THE COURT IS SAYING THAT NON-VISUAL MATERIAL IS COPYRIGHTABLE," HE SAID.