Delicious Monster’s Wil Shipley reluctantly flattered by the iBooks interface
12:03 pm, February 1st, 2010, John Brownlee
A lot of commentators on the iPad noticed the similarity between Delicious Library and the iBooks virtual bookshelves for the display of e-book titles. So did Delicious Monsters Wil Shipley.
Talking to the Washington Post, Shipley seemed upset… but also seemed to understand.
But the thing about iBooks is, it’s a book-reader. So, of course they looked around, found the best interface for displaying books (Delicious Library’s shelves), and said: yup, this is what we’re doing…
Shipley then notes that he actually understands why Apple couldn’t write him a check: it would have been taken as a legal admission that Apple copied his design, and since Delicious Library’s UI isn’t copyrighted or patented, it actually would open up culpability, not close it.
But Shipley then continued with some somber thoughts on what it feels like as an author to see your work copied, yet unrecognized:
As a creator, part of what I seek is recognition, immortality. I don’t work for Apple, or Google (I’ve been offered jobs & buyouts) because I want the fame myself. It’s my shot at immortality. My designs are my children. So it stinks when I feel like Steve might get the fame for my innovation. I lose my children, as it were.
But your children aren’t really yours. They have lives of their own. So when your designs do change the world, you have to accept it. You have to say, ‘Ok, this was such a good idea, other people took it and ran with it. I win.’
I think this is an adult reaction, and as Shipley notes, it seems like he’s turned down the same job offers that Apple made most of his Delicious Library colleagues.
Still, it does seem like some bad cricket on Apple’s part. The inspiration and, some might say, downright plagiarism seems pretty clear: it’s frankly impossible that Apple was unfamiliar with Shipley’s work.
Ultimately, though, it seems like Shipley is resigned to being reluctantly flattered by the iBooks swipe. Hopefully, though, he’ll have learned a lesson: next time he comes up with a great idea, he’ll make sure it is patented.
Posted by John Brownlee in Software, iPad | Comment on this article
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As much as I love Delicious Library, I wonder how much of a swipe this is. When I saw iBooks, I thought about my Ikea shelves in the living room first, rather than Delicious (and, frankly, Classics second).
Craig Grannell, on February 1st, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Looks more like the Classics ebook App on the iPhone.
Cameron, on February 1st, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Shipley should be happy his product is getting some attention again since Delicious Library seems to have become stagnant.
David Sharpe, on February 1st, 2010 at 12:46 pm
STOP EGO MASTURBATION PLEAAAAASE !!! I love delicious library but the design of a wooden shelf is all but innovation…it’s nobody’s design exept the first guy that built a wooden shelf in the middle age maybe…common…it’s just a well drawn copy of a real world item period. Nothing to fancy about, nothing to be proud about… it’s level zero of innovation. Delicious library is a very well designed application in its whole but so much talk for a wooden bookshelf is just ridiculous and shows how tech guy sometimes have a hard time looking outside the tech microcosm and keep a sense of perspective about what they do…
sebastien, on February 1st, 2010 at 1:42 pm
I’ve never used Delicious Library or whatever it’s called, so I’m not sure if this goes more into function than just aesthetics. But, if it’s just design and look, it looks like a BOOK SHELF in a wood grain. Other than changing the colour, how else would you change the “bookshelf”?
Nathan, on February 1st, 2010 at 1:49 pm
I agree, it’s a very basic wooden bookshelf design , hardly his “child”.
I don’t see how a bookshelf could be his own innovation or grant him immortality..
Tom, on February 1st, 2010 at 2:08 pm
Delicious Monster was the first thing I thought when I saw the bookshelf design during the keynote. It is unfortunate they chose not to protect the design element of their great piece of software. I agree that Mr. Shipley’s approach was “adult”, although is sounded more like the Homer Simpson adult mode, e.g. Duh Oh!…………why didn’t I patent my design……..
A dollar saved can be many dollars lost in the IP business.
T J River, on February 1st, 2010 at 4:10 pm
“It’s frankly impossible that Apple was unfamiliar with Shipley’s work.” Considering they awarded him an Apple design award for his GUI, I would think so.
As for Shipley patenting the idea, one has to realize that patents don’t really cover this type of thing very well. For a one-man-shop (it was at the time) to spend down the $10,000’s to get a patent that probably would loose badly when up against a team of Apple lawyers makes no sense at all. I suspect that had Shipley known what he knows now back then, he still wouldn’t have tried to patent the bookshelf.
Last, people need to realize that this was a technically challenging thing for Wil to pull off at the time from a programming standpoint. It’s easy for a designer to say “big deal, it’s a bookshelf,” but given the resources available, and how smoothly the interface works, it really is an impressive accomplishment for one person to have pulled off in such a short period of time. And I can assure you that from the articles I’ve read, Wil spent a lot of time and energy trying to get the details of the look exactly right.
Scott, on February 1st, 2010 at 5:34 pm
Well, certain innovations are patentable, trademarkable, and/or copyrightable. These protections apply to very different aspects of Intellectual Property and It takes a lawyer to figure out which are applicable in any given situation.
fred, on February 1st, 2010 at 8:27 pm
Anyone notice how the iBooks app looked almost the same as the already existent Classics app for the iPhone/iPod Touch?
Webbs, on February 1st, 2010 at 8:42 pm
It’s a complete ripoff of the look and functionality of Classics. They even used that app in a commercial. You would think they would have paid that developer. Delicious Library has a wooden bookshelf look, but that’s kind of a thin similarity.
Mike, on February 1st, 2010 at 11:48 pm
This looks like the bookshelf at my junior high school library. I will tell our principal Mr. Eugene Robinballs that our school should sue Apple for stealing ideas from my junior high school. We will win, trust me.
iFanboy, on February 2nd, 2010 at 12:20 am
Hello again ‘iFanboy’ ~ the REAL iFanboy doesn’t favour litigation
And speaking of libraries ~
WASN’T IT APPALLING HOW U.S. FORCES, ATTACKING, INVADING, AND RAPING IRAQ ON BEHALF on behalf of an Oil Cartel… BURNED DOWN… The National Library?!?
If all goes well, the United States WILL BE!!!!!!! at war with CHINA
iFanboy, on February 2nd, 2010 at 2:58 am
It’s good Wil did not patent the look and feel. This noise is great for DL – my favorite catalogue program.
Did you notice iTunes on the sidebar? Save for Podcasts, your Movies, Music and AudioBooks appear on DL with a click. They even play from the shelf. I think there is a collaboration – a quid pro quo – because iTunes enhances DL as much as the shelf does iBooks.
Cheers
Tommy Peters, on February 2nd, 2010 at 8:17 am
Gee, books… on a bookshelf. Where on earth did he get such an idea?
Please, as nicely as he may have designed his interface, the bookshelf metaphor is so natural and logical that I cannot believe he is the “creator.”
Andrew, on February 2nd, 2010 at 9:57 am