Pretty much what jcranmer said: The status quo, for decades, has been that you can do that. So this would be a drastic change to the rules by which we play the game.
More: Recall that copyright lasts close to forever. (95 years for corporations, if I recall correctly.) This ruling, then, would have allowed IBM to sue every BIOS clone maker, and keep a stranglehold on the PC market, and still have that stranglehold to this day, and be able to keep it until 2076. Then, on August 2, 2076, then we could get IBM-compatible PCs.
Compare that to actual history, and you can see why I think the current ruling is horrible.
More: Recall that copyright lasts close to forever. (95 years for corporations, if I recall correctly.) This ruling, then, would have allowed IBM to sue every BIOS clone maker, and keep a stranglehold on the PC market, and still have that stranglehold to this day, and be able to keep it until 2076. Then, on August 2, 2076, then we could get IBM-compatible PCs.
Compare that to actual history, and you can see why I think the current ruling is horrible.