"somehow had saved what he claims was my response to Microsoft’s legal threat and sent it me."
While I understand how the response was many years ago, I fail to see how someone couldn't verify a letter that they wrote (it tends to be easy at least to know your style of writing and it's hard to believe he wouldn't remember writing to Gates about this). And what was the form of this letter (a printout of an old email, a copy of a physical letter, something hand written)? Certainly Doug didn't verbally remind him. There must have been something physical to look at.
His letter by the way is naive with respect to trademark law. Microsoft most likely wasn't objecting to the "e" but the stylized element above the "e". Steve's letter addresses only the "E".
While I understand how the response was many years ago, I fail to see how someone couldn't verify a letter that they wrote (it tends to be easy at least to know your style of writing and it's hard to believe he wouldn't remember writing to Gates about this). And what was the form of this letter (a printout of an old email, a copy of a physical letter, something hand written)? Certainly Doug didn't verbally remind him. There must have been something physical to look at.
His letter by the way is naive with respect to trademark law. Microsoft most likely wasn't objecting to the "e" but the stylized element above the "e". Steve's letter addresses only the "E".