From: rms@AI.MIT.EDU (Richard Stallman)
Newsgroups: gnu.emacs.announce,comp.emacs
Subject: Issues regarding Apple
Message-ID: <9010141905.AA07541@pogo>
Date: 14 Oct 90 19:05:43 GMT
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Posted: Sun Oct 14 20:05:43 1990


Apple (along with Lotus, Xerox and Ashton Tate) is trying to make it
illegal to write software even partially compatible in its behavior
with existing software.  If you write a program that does a simular
job, they will sue you.  This is not a negligible threat; Lotus has
already won such a lawsuit.  If Apple succeeds in monopolizing large
classes of window system features, it will be a disaster of the first
magnitude.

The Free Software Foundation's response to this threat is to boycott
these companies.  That is why our software releases don't contain
support for A/UX or for the Macintosh operating system.

>From time to time, people ask on the net for help in using GNU
software on those systems.  I hope all of you will join in the boycott
and refuse to give such help--or any other kind of help with Apple
systems.

Supporting third-party software on a system directly contributes to
the success of that system.  This is illustrated by the special
developer incentives which all computer manufacturers offer to
encourage such support.  Thus, if you facilitate the use of A/UX, you
might as well be donating your time to the Apple sales force.  (Such
donations will not be deductible from your legal fees if you are hit
with a "look and feel" lawsuit inspired by the Apple lawsuit of
today.)

To get more information on this issue, contact the League for
Programming Freedom, which is fighting to eliminate interface
copyright and bring back the freedom to write compatible software.
Send email to league@prep.ai.mit.edu and ask for copies of the
position papers.