Announcing that Metaphor Computer Systems Inc, of Mountain View, California had agreed to pay royalties on its Metaphor iconic graphical user interface, Xerox Corp says it intends to make available broad new licensing arrangements for the graphical user interface that it developed at its Palo Alto Research Center and copyrighted in 1981. It is not clear where Apple Computer Inc stands as a result of the Xerox decision to assert its rights in the interface, the key distinguishing feature of the Macintosh computer. It also calls into question Apple’s suit against Microsoft Corp and Hewlett-Packard Co over the look and feel of Presentation Manager and NewWave, suggesting that if Apple were to win the lawsuit, Xerox would come out the real winner.
