The League for Programming Freedom is opposed to copyrighting the user interfaces of computer programs. Our 1991 position paper Against User Interface Copyright explains our position (also available in ASCII text, postscript, and Texinfo).
Here is an example of the kind of incompatible user interface that user interface copyrights cause:
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In March, the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the 1993 decision of Judge Keeton of Boston in Lotus' lawsuit against Borland. Lotus sued Borland for copyright infringement on Lotus 1-2-3.
In its decision the appeals court determined that Lotus' menu structures, incorporated into Borland's Quatro Pro spreadsheet, are "an uncopyrightable method of operation".
Lotus has announced its intention to appeal to the Supreme Court. LPF will be following the case and intends to be ready with an amicus brief.
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