Dictionary.net

Some time before 1989, Apple Computer, Inc. started alawsuit against Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft, claimingthey had breeched Apple's copyright on the look and feelof the Macintosh user interface. In December 1989, Xeroxfailed to sue Apple Computer, claiming that the software forApple's Lisa computer and Macintosh Finder, bothcopyrighted in 1987, were derived from two Xerox programs:Smalltalk, developed in the mid-1970s and Star,copyrighted in 1981.Apple wanted to stop people from writing any program thatworked even vaguely like a Macintosh. If such look andfeel lawsuits succeed they could put an end to freesoftware that could substitute for commercial software.In the weeks after the suit was filed, Usenet reverberatedwith condemnation for Apple. GNU supporters RichardStallman, John Gilmore, and Paul Rubin decided to takeaction against Apple. Apple's reputation as a force forprogress came from having made better computers; but TheLeague for Programming Freedom believed that Apple wanted tomake all non-Apple computers worse. They therefore campaignedto discourage people from using Apple products or working forApple or any other company threatening similar obstructionisttactics (e.g. Lotus and Xerox).Because of this boycott the Free Software Foundation for along time didn't support Macintosh Unix in their software.In 1995, the LPF and the FSF decided to end the boycott.[Dates? Other events? Why did Xerox's case against Applefail?]