Apple cracks down on Aqua 'skins'
Stardock Corp. Inc. has complied with part of the request, according to its president, Brad Wardell, and has asked Apple (aapl) to clarify what it considers IP violations so as to head off future violations before they are posted.
The themes, or "skins," change interface elements ranging from color to window sizes to icons and fonts. Stardock is the maker of DesktopX, a program that lets users create their own customized desktop interfaces and change their functionality. Stardock encourages Windows users to design themes and then submit them to the company for possible free distribution to others via its Web site.
Having removed the skins and themes to which Apple objected, Wardell said he has "drawn the line" on removal of screen shots of the Aqua-like skins until he discusses the matter with his legal counsel and receives further clarification from Apple. One such skin resembles the OS X Aqua interface in its color, gray-striped window backgrounds, bluish bars and silver trash can.
This isn't the first time Apple has taken aim at Aqua-inspired skins created with Stardock's tools. In January 2000, Apple's lawyers sent a letter to the Web site Skinz.org instructing it to take down a skin that resembled Apple's newly unveiled interface and allegedly contained elements of Apple's trademarked logo for Mac OS X. Skinz.org later posted a modified version of the skin that lacked those elements.
A fine line
"If we're hosting the skin, they can certainly ask us to take it down. If we agree that it violates their IP rights, then by all means I want to comply," he said. "But I'm not sure at this point how I feel about removing screen shots. If we did that, then they would have to go to every Web site, e-zine and whatever to have screen shots of OS X Aqua removed."
Wardell is concerned how far the issue could go, since many themes that don't copy the Aqua interface completely have "Aqua-inspired" features.
"That's where things get really murky," Wardell said. "What if we posted something that was inspired by Aqua, they objected and we remove it? If we do that for Apple, how do we know every single person that uploads something wasn't inspired by someone else's work? That creates an impossible situation for us to moderate...Again, I am discussing this issue with Apple and my legal counsel."
Apple was not immediately available for comment.
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