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My point was that Apple wasn’t as creative as people commonly think.

This is also false. Where is it alleged that Apple invented the GUI? Where is it alleged that Apple invented the MP3 player? Where is it alleged that Apple invented the smartphone, the tablet, the set-top box, the notebook, the LCD display, the desktop computer, or the touchscreen? No one in their right mind thinks that Apple invented them, but Apple's customers definitely think the company has some very high-quality versions of those concepts.

As for the license, I don’t believe there is one.

Whether you believe a license exists is irrelevant. Apple did indeed license from Xerox. Swordmaker has repeatedly busted this myth in this thread and many other Mac threads on FR. Refer to posts 50, 52, 53, and 57.

I think that the common perception is that Apple created the mouse and GUI. Disagree if you like.

The basic “myth” that was attacked in the earlier posts by others was that Apple stole Xerox’s technology. But that is not what I have said. I said that I don’t think that Apple got a license from PARC for the mouse and the GUI. We agree completely on the mouse, and, indeed, Apple licensed it from SRI, not Xerox. As for the GUI, you seem to be insisting that there is a license because you think that only a license clears Apple of the “theft” that some claim. I pointed out, however, that Apple didn’t need a license to have made legitimate use of what it was shown at PARC. Perhaps the stock option documents included a license, or perhaps they didn’t. Ultimately the point is a technical legal point - did Apple license the GUI, or did Xerox simply waive its trade secret protection. Either way, there is no basis for criticizing Apple.