Paperback Software

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Paperback Software International
Company typeLimited
IndustrySoftware Engineering
FounderAdam Osborne
FateDissolved
Headquarters
United States

Paperback Software International Ltd. was a software company founded in 1983 by Adam Osborne to manufacture discount software such as word processor Paperback Writer and related spell checker Paperback Speller, spreadsheet VP-Planner,[1][2] database VP-Info, and the VP-Expert artificial intelligence software. VP-Expert was developed by Brian Sawyer[3] The company was headquartered in Berkeley, California.[4]

History

The company was found by a United States court to have infringed on copyright for reproducing the appearance and menu system of Lotus 1-2-3 in its competing spreadsheet program,[5][6] even though they did use different computer code.[7][8][9][10] The loss of this lawsuit was the main cause for the foundering of the company and paved the way for future copyright law on computer software.[citation needed]

Overview

Not only was VP Planner cheaper, it was regarded by some as better.[11] Adam Osborne's US Paperback Software business folded following lengthy litigation with Lotus Software.[12] The litigation began in 1987, when Lotus initially won a copyright claim in 1990 against Paperback Software.[13] Lotus sued Borland over the latter’s Quattro Pro spreadsheet[14][15] but, after six years of litigation, lost the lawsuit. The court ruled that it is not copyright infringement to use the Lotus interface as a subset, but, by then, Paperback Software had folded, and Lotus 1-2-3 had faced intense competition from Microsoft Excel.

Legacy

VP-Info remains in use and continues to be available for download from public software archives, and through the Wayback Machine. VP-Info was revised and updated and re-published by SubRosa Corporation as the Shark database management application.[16][circular reference] VP-Expert was the top-selling expert systems development tool, with over 120,000 units sold and site licenses at DuPont, Kodak, and the Wharton School of Business.

References

  1. ^ "A DIVISIVE LOTUS 'CLONE' WAR". The New York Times. February 5, 1987.
  2. ^ "Three Officials Quit Paperback". The New York Times. June 15, 1988.
  3. ^ "VP-Expert".
  4. ^ "Paperback Software International".
  5. ^ "Lotus Wins Copyright Decision". The New York Times. June 29, 1990.
  6. ^ John Markoff (July 3, 1990). "Lotus Sues 2 On Copyright Violation". The New York Times.
  7. ^ bsobel (January 19, 2015). "Lotus Development Corp. v. Paperback Software International". H2O. H2O. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
  8. ^ Gerard J. Lewis (1991). "COMMENT: LOTUS DEVELOPMENT CORP. V. PAPERBACK SOFTWARE INTERNATIONAL: BROAD COPYRIGHT PROTECTION FOR USER INTERFACES IGNORES THE SOFTWARE INDUSTRY'S TREND TOWARD STANDARDIZATION". LexisNexis. LexisNexis. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
  9. ^ Brian Johnson. "An Analysis of the Copyrightability of the "Look and Feel" of a Computer Program: Lotus v. Paperback Software" (PDF). The Ohio State University Law Review. hdl:1811/64566. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
  10. ^ Pamela Samuelson (1992). "Computer Programs, User Interfaces, and Section 102(b) of the Copyright Act of 1976: A Critique of Lotus v Paperback". Duke Law. Duke Law. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
  11. ^ "InfoWorld VP Planner Product Review". InfoWorld. 2 April 1990.
  12. ^ Russo, J. and J. Nafziger. "Software 'Look and Feel' Protection in the 1990s"
  13. ^ Lotus Dev. Corp. v. Paperback Software Int'l, 740 F. Supp. 37 (D. Mass. 1990)
  14. ^ "Action in Lotus's Lawsuit". The New York Times.
  15. ^ "LOTUS DEVELOPMENT CORP. v. BORLAND INTERNATIONAL INC., 49 F.3d 807 (1st Cir. 1995)". Cornell Law. Retrieved May 29, 2016. [failed verification]
  16. ^ VP-Info


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