This same logic, working as legal precedent, will stifle software development throughout the industry. In fact, the same logic ten years ago might have prevented the development of Windows altogether. We, as consumers, have made Microsoft successful by buying its products, and we buy them because Microsoft has given us the right combination of features and price. WordPerfect used to be the dominant word processor, but today that position belongs to Microsoft Word. This shift came about because Microsoft was able to provide a timely and capable Windows-based word processor when WordPerfect could not.
Consumers are voters casting ballots with their dollars.
Politicians sometimes complain that voters are inconsistent. This is seldom true. When voters appear inconsistent, it simply means they're not listening carefully enough. The same is true for consumers. The software vendors that complain about Microsoft's unfair success need to listen better to consumers.