THIS QUESTION IS BASED ON A TRUE STORY BUT THE FACTS MAY HAVE BEEN ALTERED. IF Y

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THIS QUESTION IS BASED ON A TRUE STORY BUT THE FACTS MAY HAVE BEEN ALTERED. IF YOU THINK YOU RECALL THE ACTUAL STORY CLEARLY, YOU SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO THE FACTS HEREIN AND NOT THE FACTS FROM THE REAL STORY! Back in the early 1980s Apple Computer, located in Cupertino, California, had suddenly gone from making personal computers in the garage of the parents of one of the company's founders to being extremely important players in the technology field. Their initial computer design, created by co-founder Steve Wozniak, was a wonder of hardware engineering. However, co-founder Steve Jobs noticed that the competitive advantage Apple enjoyed was going to be short lived as others were starting to create cheaper computers that did the same things as those made by Apple. He felt that they needed a new advantage The Xerox Corporation had a facility known as the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) just down the road and they were interested in owning a share of Apple. Jobs had heard through the tech grapevine that PARC had created some genuinely new ways of working with computers so he made a deal with Xerox that if they would allovw Apple to see what they were working on, and use it as the basis of their own software development, Apple would give Xerox a small equity stake in Apple. The managers in Xerox's New York offices did not take PARC seriously so they viewed this as a way to make a quick buck on a business that was not a core interest of theirs. Apple took from Xerox the concept of a mouse, a graphical user interface (computers to that date had all been run by typing in long commands at a keyboard and seeing simple alphabetic responses in return), and some networking concepts, and they turned it all into the Macintosh. In the mean time, Microsoft was designing application programs such as word processors and primitive spreadsheets and calculators for Apple computers. Apple very much wanted to have Microsoft design those programs to work on the new Mac so they sent Microsoft prototypes of the Mac. Microsoft was blown away by what Apple had come up with and they did indeed "port" their existing applications to the new environment. The Macintosh came out to rave reviews and very soon afterwards, Microsoft released its first version of the Windows operating system which became the second commercially successful operating system that made use of a graphical user interface. Steve Jobs was furious. He called Bill Gates and threatened to sue on a variety of grounds, one of which was interference with a prospective advantage. Ultimately Apple decided that it was not in their best interest to sue for a lot of reasons. If they had proceeded, could Apple have won? Are there other business torts they could have alleged? If so explain the likely arguments they would have used. Also, explain any defenses Microsoft had available.

Explanation / Answer

Could Apple have won?

NO.

Apple would not have won the case. As case would have backfired the Apple. Use of mouse, graphical user interface and some networking concept are not the proprietary to the Apple only. It’s been developed by the Xerox and been shared with the Apple for their use in return to the stake. Apple maximum can ask for the royalty from Microsoft for the use of these concept as Apple have some stake in these concepts. Its Xerox who have failed to understand the importance of their own technology and lost it cheaply to the Apple. In the same way Apple didn’t take care of the concept and leaked to the Microsoft cheaply.

But even if Apple would have sued to Microsoft for that matter, Microsoft could have defend itself in following ways-

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