A quick look back at Apple’s copyright lawsuit against Microsoft filed 36 years ago today

For decades, Apple and Microsoft have been fierce competitors. This rivalry often leads to heated disagreements. In late January 2024, Sarah Bond, the president of Microsoft’s Xbox division, expressed her opinion on Apple’s attempt to comply with the European Union’s app store regulations. She posted on her X (formerly Twitter) account that, according to Microsoft, this move was a misstep for Apple.

Despite this, it was actually Apple who took a bold and assertive action a few decades back. Exactly 36 years ago on March 17, 1988, the individuals in Cupertino initiated a legal case against the group in Redmond for allegedly violating their copyright.

The feature on this lawsuit, along with the origins of this legal action, has been published on the Thomson Reuters site. As many may recall, Microsoft initially revealed its plan to release Windows 1.0, a graphical user interface operating system, in November 1983. However, the official launch of Windows 1.0 did not occur until November 1985.

According to reports, Microsoft and its CEO Bill Gates were given the opportunity to preview an early version of the Apple Macintosh computer and its operating system prior to its official launch. This was in preparation for Microsoft’s plans to release Word and other software for the Mac. It is said that Gates was highly impressed by the Mac OS’s user interface design.

Following the release of the Macintosh in January 1984, it was reported that Gates approached Apple and proposed that the company license its operating system in order for it to be utilized by other PC manufacturers, following a similar model to Microsoft’s offer of the MS-DOS system to PC companies. However, Apple declined to pursue this option.

After the launch of Windows 1.0 by Microsoft, there were reports that Apple was displeased. They considered taking legal action against Microsoft for allegedly using UI designs from Mac OS in their operating system. However, in 1985, the two companies reached an agreement in which Microsoft would compensate Apple for the use of their Mac OS UI designs in Windows 1.0.

In addition to permitting Microsoft to use Mac OS graphical UI designs in Windows 1.0, Apple’s agreement extended to future Windows releases. However, when Windows 2.0 was launched in December 1987, Apple observed that it included overlapping windows, a feature reminiscent of Mac OS, along with other elements that exceeded the scope of the 1985 agreement. As a result, Apple began considering legal action against Microsoft.

On March 17, 1988, Apple filed a lawsuit against Microsoft and HP, as previously mentioned. According to a report by The New York Times, Apple officially initiated legal proceedings against both companies on this date.

Apple said software programs sold by the two companies infringed on copyrights Apple held for the way information is presented and controlled on Macintosh screens. The programs are New Wave, sold by Hewlett-Packard, and Microsoft’s Windows version 2.03.

Apple attempted to argue that Microsoft’s Windows 2.0 was utilizing 189 distinct graphical user interface elements from the Mac OS without obtaining permission from Apple.

As stated by Freibrun Law, in 1992, the US District Court declared that more than 90 percent of the individual Mac OS GUI elements, which Apple accused Microsoft of unlawfully using in Windows 2.0, were already included in the initial 1985 agreement between the two companies. The remaining elements, which were not addressed in the agreement, were mainly generic symbols representing basic concepts or functional aspects of the program, and thus did not meet the criteria for copyright protection.

Despite Apple’s appeal, the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the District Court’s decision in 1994 with a 3-0 vote. Apple attempted a final appeal to the US Supreme Court, but in February 1995, the court rejected the case. This ultimately signaled the conclusion of Apple’s unsuccessful legal battle.