Paperback Software International

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Paperback Software International
TypeLimited
IndustrySoftware Engineering
FounderAdam Osborne
FateDissolved
Headquarters
United States

Paperback Software International Ltd. was a software company founded in the 1980s by Adam Osborne to manufacture discount software such as spreadsheet (VP-Planner),[1][2] database (VP-Info) and information management (VP-Expert) software.

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,[3][4] even though they did use different computer code.[5][6][7][8] 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.[9] Adam Osborne's US Paperback Software business folded following lengthy litigation with Lotus Software.[10] The litigation began in 1987, when Lotus initially won a copyright claim in 1990 against Paperback Software.[11] Lotus sued Borland over the latter’s Quattro Pro spreadsheet[12][13] 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.[14][circular reference]

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. ^ "Lotus Wins Copyright Decision". The New York Times. June 29, 1990.
  4. ^ John Markoff (July 3, 1990). "Lotus Sues 2 On Copyright Violation". The New York Times.
  5. ^ bsobel (January 19, 2015). "Lotus Development Corp. v. Paperback Software International". H2O. H2O. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "InfoWorld VP Planner Product Review". InfoWorld. 2 April 1990.
  10. ^ Russo, J. and J. Nafziger. "Software 'Look and Feel' Protection in the 1990s"
  11. ^ Lotus Dev. Corp. v. Paperback Software Int'l, 740 F. Supp. 37 (D. Mass. 1990)
  12. ^ "Action in Lotus's Lawsuit".
  13. ^ "LOTUS DEVELOPMENT CORP. v. BORLAND INTERNATIONAL INC., 49 F.3d 807 (1st Cir. 1995)". Cornell Law. Retrieved May 29, 2016.[failed verification]
  14. ^ VP-Info


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