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Microsoft Responds To "Like OS X" Comment

Posted by samzenpus on from the imitation-is-the-greatest-form-of-flattery dept.

Z80xxc! writes "After a comment by a Microsoft employee claiming in an interview that 'what we [Microsoft] have tried to do with Windows 7... is create a Mac look and feel in terms of graphics,' the Windows 7 team has issued an official rebuttal, saying that the comment came from an employee who was 'not involved in any aspect of designing Windows 7,' and that it was 'inaccurate and uninformed.'"

1 of 505 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Save face? by cygnusx · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    "The court established that Apple could not make copyright claims based on these ideas and could only make claims on the precise expression of them."

    And the key word here is _precisely_.

    > - trashcan copied
    Actually, that's exactly why Microsoft never called it the "trashcan". They called it a Recycle Bin. It looks different, too.

    > Shutdown procedure copied
    Windows has a start button attached to a start menu. To shut down, you go Start > Shut down ... > ... This is not _precisely_ the same as the Mac.

    And so on...

    The point is look-and-feel protection is a very narrow protection. It protects you from lookalikes, not workalikes.

    And finally: sue or shut up. Frankly, if some Mac fans (or Apple) feel Windows 7 ripped the Mac off, they ought to get Apple to sue. Lord knows Apple isn't litigation-shy. Thankfully, their lawyers are a little more grown-up than the average Mac fanboy.