August 26, 1993: Apple vs. Microsoft Lawsuit Dismissed

When Apple first sued Microsoft for infringing on the look and feel of the Mac OS the Board of Directors felt sure Apple would win. In fact, the board was counting on the lawsuit to fix some of Apple's ills.

Apple argued, basically, that the GUI operating system was property of Apple. Microsoft countered by citing a letter that allowed Microsoft to use some Apple technology in exchange for certain programming concessions. The lawsuit dragged on for six years, from 1988 to 1994.

The courts took a careful look at Apple's claim, decided that Apple had licensed Microsoft to use innovations such as overlapping Windows and sent Apple packing this week in August of 1993 (pending appeal).