Wil Shipley: Apple copied my Delicious Library

During the iPad demonstration when the iBooks was presented some of us could notice that it looks exactly like Delicious Library. And its developer Will Shipley noticed that too.

So in a few days later he gave an interview to The Washington Post, mainly to complain about the striking similarity:

- But the thing about iBooks is, it's a book-reader. So, of course they looked around, found the best interface for displaying books (Delicious Library's shelves), and said: "yup, this is what we're doing".

He said the he did not copyright the idea of wooden shelves and showing photo-realistic books on it. Because if he tried, it needed to be valued somehow, and then Apple would sent its lawyers and they would ask how much was the value and how it was determined.

But still it is flattering. He made something that has been acknowledged by a huge company known for their design potential. And Shipley say on that:

- But your [designs] aren't really yours. They have lives of their own. So when your designs do change the world, you have to accept it. You have to say, 'Ok, this was such a good idea, other people took it and ran with it. I win.'