Rejected Suitor

The signs read "Drop the Suit, We Have You Surrounded" and "Can Las Vegas Sue Atlantic City?" as about 320 marchers protested Lotus Development's recent bout of lawsuits protecting the look and feel of 1-2-3. The August 2 rally at Lotus's Cambridge, Massachusetts, office was organized by the League for Programming Freedom (LPF). The LPF believes user interfaces shouldn't be copyrighted.

Highlights of the demonstration included the protesters' hex chant: "1-2-3-4, kick that lawsuit out the door; 5-6-7-8, innovate—don't litigate; 9-A-B-C, interfaces should be free; D-E-F-0, look-and-feel has got to go."

—DAVID ENGLISH