Paperback Software International

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 expert system VP-Expert software. VP-Expert was developed by Brian Sawyer[3] The company was headquartered in Berkeley, California.[4]

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

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.

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]

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.
  16. VP-Info


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