The $40 Million Spreadsheet Lawsuit That Destroyed VisiCalc

How VisiCalc lost to Lotus 1-2-3 reveals the fight that destroyed the first spreadsheet company. It traces Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston building VisiCalc for the Apple II in 1979 at Software Arts, Dan Fylstra's Personal Software becoming VisiCorp, the royalty and control dispute between the two companies, Lotus 1-2-3 launching for the IBM PC in January 1983, the 1983 and 1984 lawsuits, VisiCorp's merger into Paladin, and Lotus buying Software Arts in 1985.