August 14, 1991: As Apple and Microsoft head to court to battle each other, the tide begins to turn against Apple and its claims that Windows unlawfully copies the look and feel of Mac OS.
The case concerns whether key elements of Apple’s operating system are original enough for copyright protection. The decision turns out to be a major blow against Apple — and the start of Cupertino’s 1990s decline.
Apple won’t publicly admit that it tweaked the 2018 MacBook Pro keyboard to fix the hardware’s biggest flaw. But in a leaked internal document, the company says it installed a new “membrane” to “prevent debris from entering the butterfly mechanism.”
July 16, 2014: Apple agrees to pay $450 million to resolve the Department of Justice’s antitrust case against the company over e-book pricing in the iBooks Store.
Cupertino was accused of conspiring with five major book publishers to fix e-book prices. The five publishers all settled their claims outside of court, leaving only Apple to go to trial.
An Australian court levied a A$9M ($6.7M) fine against Apple for refusing to fix iPhones and iPads because they’d had third-party repairs. That’s against the law in that country.
The refusals happened in the midst of the “Error 53” mess, in which iPhone units became permanently disabled after having their Home button replaced by non-Apple repair techs.
June 13, 2013: Eddy Cue takes the witness stand to defend Cupertino’s business strategy in the Department of Justice’s antitrust case against Apple regarding e-book pricing in the iBooks Store.
Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of internet software and services, is the Apple exec in charge of the iBooks initiative. His testimony proves vital to a case in which potential damages climb well into the nine figures.
The decade-long Apple v. Samsung patent-infringement trial is nearing its end. A jury is expected to announce Monday whether the premier Android-maker owes Apple $1 billion for copying the iPhone’s design.
A court case to determine if Apple owes the European Union about €13 billion will begin in about six months. The trial will determine if Ireland gave Apple illegal tax incentives.
The two are actually appealing a decision by the European Commission made in 2016 that Ireland is effectively a tax haven.
March 30, 2006: A court case begins that once again pits Apple Computer against Apple Corps, aka The Beatles’ record label and holding company.
The lawsuit caps a long-running legal battle between the two wealthy companies. It’s the final fight in an epic legal battle over music, technology and money.
February 14, 1995: Apple Computer extends a lawsuit against developer San Francisco Canyon Company to also include Microsoft and Intel. The lawsuit concerns code allegedly stolen from Apple and used to improve Microsoft’s Video for Windows technology.
The lawsuit comes to a head with Apple threatening a multibillion-dollar lawsuit against Microsoft. Meanwhile, Microsoft CEO Bill Gates threatens to cancel Office for Mac.
January 18, 1983: Computer manufacturer Franklin Electronic Publishers takes the wraps off its Franklin Ace 1200 computer, an unauthorized Apple II clone that leads to an important legal battle.
Cupertino will soon target Franklin’s line of unlicensed Apple clones with a lawsuit. In the resulting trial, a U.S. court will decide whether a company can protect its operating system by copyright.
