Borland International Inc looks close to the end of its battle with Lotus Development Corp after the US District Court in Boston ruled against it in the copyright case brought by Lotus in July 1991. The court ruled that a compatibility feature in the revised Quattro Pro spreadsheet still infringes Lotus copyright. Borland said it will seek certification of the decision for an immediate appeal on grounds that the ruling is inconsistent with those of other federal courts and the opinions of leading copyright law scholars and the US Copyright Office itself. The feature the court ruled to infringe a Lotus copyright is the key reader, which enables users to operate many common forms macro that users create using 1-2-3 within Quattro Pro. Borland notes that the decision will not affect its ability to continue shipping any of its spreadsheets, since the feature in question is only one small component, and should any modifications be required they can be quickly made without affecting the availability of Borland’s spreadsheet products. Borland adds that Making a macro command language copyrightable gives a company a monopoly on what a user can do with his or her own investment in macro programs: the decision means that users are prohibited from utilizing their own work created using Lotus 1-2-3, in the form of keystrokes or custom computer programs, on any products not sold by Lotus Development Corp. The Court also made clear its view that programming languages are copyrightable. The problem for Borland, if its appeal does not succeed, is that it faces a big bill for damages, and according to Computer Reseller News is seeking a cash infusion from late-round venture capital firms to tide it over.
