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Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/17/84 chuqui version 1.7 9/23/84; site nsc.UUCP
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From: chuqui@nsc.UUCP (Cheshire Chuqui)
Newsgroups: net.micro.mac
Subject: Re: pop-up/pull-down menus
Message-ID: <1994@nsc.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 7-Dec-84 15:46:23 EST
Article-I.D.: nsc.1994
Posted: Fri Dec  7 15:46:23 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 8-Dec-84 05:44:59 EST
References: <415@digi-g.UUCP>
Reply-To: chuqui@nsc.UUCP (Cheshire Chuqui)
Distribution: net
Organization: Plaid Heaven
Lines: 27
Summary: 


 
>
>    Anyone want to speculate on what Apple is going to do with their
>patent of pop-up/pull-down menus?  I believe they were granted a patent
>a few months ago - a lot of new, heavy duty software uses them
>(TopView, Windows, Symphony?).  I kind of like the idea of Apple suing
>IBM, and throwing a big monkey wrench into their windowing environment.

Well, the first thing they are going to do is go to court. I've heard that
xerox is already challenging the patent in court. The second thing I expect
them to do is lose the patent because Xerox has been doing that with pop-up
menus for a long, long, long time. The patent is unenforcable, and I expect
Apple knows it. It might make a nice harrasement tool if Apple ever decides
it needs one, it will definitely make Mac-compatible developers think
twice because it gives Apple a way of dragging them into a nice expensive
battle (even if Apples lawyers and the other people's lawyers KNOW it is
unenforcable it could still cost them millions of dollars to prove it) and
it gives the authors something nice to put on their resumes.....

chuq (I ***love*** lawyers..)
-- 
From the center of a Plaid pentagram:		Chuq Von Rospach
{cbosgd,decwrl,fortune,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo}!nsc!chuqui  nsc!chuqui@decwrl.ARPA

  ~But you know, monsieur, that as long as she wears the claw of the dragon
  upon her breast you can do nothing-- her soul belongs to me!~