Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: Incorrigible
Not so. Xerox later sued Apple but by then it was too little too late.

Is so.

yes, Xerox, under a new CEO who was unaware of what had actually transpired years before his tenure, did indeed sue and lost when Apple provided the court with the documentary evidence of the $7 million dollars in Apple Computer Inc. Preferred Stock granted to Xerox in exchange for the privilege of having two 8 hour visits at PARC AND using what they learned there.

44 posted on 01/22/2007 8:42:12 PM PST by Swordmaker (Remember, the proper pronunciation of IE is "AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies ]


To: Incorrigible; TC Rider
From the Motley Fool:

. . . "Similarly, Xerox PARC invented modern desktop computing. Windows, icons, mice, pulldown menus, "What You See Is What You Get" (WYSIWYG) printing, networked workstations, object-oriented programming -- the works. Xerox the copier company feared the paperless office and formed a think tank to invent it before anybody else could, but once its commandos had succeeded, it simply couldn't bring itself to disrupt its core business of making copiers.

"Xerox could have owned the PC revolution, but instead it sat on the technology for years. Then, in exchange for the opportunity to invest in a hot new pre-IPO start-up called "Apple," the Xerox PARC commandos were forced -- under protest -- to give Apple's engineers a tour and a demonstration of their work. The result was the Apple Macintosh, which Microsoft later copied to create Windows.

"On the other hand, Xerox did put a windowing interface on a little display on the side of some of its copiers.". . . - Rob Landley

The actual fact, is that Xerox's "investment" in Apple was not cash but rather what Jobs and his engineers learned at their two 1979 meetings at PARC and the inspiration they received that later resulted in the Lisa and the Macintosh. Unfortunately, Xerox's management again was short sighted and sold the Preferred Stock they received a little over a year later... for a nice profit... after Apple's IPO.

46 posted on 01/22/2007 9:49:10 PM PST by Swordmaker (Remember, the proper pronunciation of IE is "AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 44 | View Replies ]

To: Incorrigible; TC Rider
Incidentally, the technical end of the Xerox v. Apple suit came about because the statute of limitations had long since expired. The Apple Lisa was released in 1983 and the Macintosh in 1984 but Xerox did not bring suit until 1989, ten years after the infamous visit, and five years after they should have known they were "injured" by copyright infringement... and two years after the three year Statute of Limitations had expired.

The Judge recognized Apple's position that they had indeed entered into a contract with Xerox for the visits but dismissed the suit with prejudice on the statute of limitations grounds instead of hearing arguments on the contract from Xerox.

47 posted on 01/22/2007 9:59:16 PM PST by Swordmaker (Remember, the proper pronunciation of IE is "AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 44 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson