''Our view is that it is just one step in the legal process.'' Burdick, Paperback's vice president of sales and marketing. ''We're not totally surprised by the direction the judge has taken,'' said Micheal K.
They said they were still trying to digest the 110-page ruling made by United States District Judge Robert Keeton. The two cases were separated when the lawsuit originally went to trial, and yesterday's ruling applied only to Paperback Software and its Canadian development partner, Stephenson Software Ltd.Įxecutives of Lotus, which is based in Cambridge, Mass., have argued that the two smaller companies copied thea Lotus format - a grid-like design on the computer screen - as well as the sequence of keystrokes used to manipulate information.Įxecutives at Paperback Software said they intended to appeal. Their programs imitate both the appearance and the command set of Lotus 1-2-3, the best-selling spreadsheet program, which lists for $495. Both Paperback and Mosaic sell $99 spreadsheet programs for I.B.M. The case, which Lotus brought against two of its small challengers, Paperback Software International and Mosaic Software Inc., in February 1987, had been closely watched by the computer industry. The Lotus Development Corporation gained a significant victory yesterday when a Federal judge in Boston ruled that its copyright had been infringed by competitors whose software imitates the command structure of Lotus's 1-2-3 spreadsheet program.