Novell is seeking unspecified damages from Microsoft, alleging the company withheld vital technical knowledge impairing WordPerfect’s development, while cajoling hardware providers through its monopoly position to kill WordPerfect’s access to market.
The action comes despite last week’s $536 million settlement of outstanding litigation between the two companies over Novell’s NetWare and other business. Under that deal, Novell agreed not to assist the European Commission (EC) during Microsoft’s forthcoming appeal against sanctions and a fine imposed by the Commission against Microsoft for allegedly abusing its market position in Europe.
Novell’s suit, filed with the US District Court in Utah, re-opens a sensitive time in Microsoft’s history – the mid-1990s, when WordPerfect battled Office for supremacy. Office closed the decade by overtaking WordPerfect’s market share.
Much of the US government’s own antitrust case against Microsoft concerning the browser wars and Microsoft’s anticompetitive behavior against Netscape, was based on evidence and events also dating from the 1990s.
Novell is resting part of its case on findings in the US government’s case.
Despite having sold WordPerfect and Quattro Pro to Corel Corp in March 1996, and the fact Novell has since then re-invented itself as a Linux server and desktop software and services company, the company said the case retained considerable value.
In a statement, Novel said its goal was to recover the fair value for the harm caused to its business by Microsoft’s anticompetitive actions.
While Novell did not put a figure on damages, it claimed the combined value of WordPerfect and the Quattro Pro spreadsheet were $1 billion in 1994, the period after Novell merged with WordPerfect Corp and separately bought Quattro Pro. Both WordPerfect and Quattro Pro were sold to Corel for $170 million.
Novell’s action makes three key claims: that Microsoft withheld vital technical information about Windows that impaired Novell’s ability to develop WordPerfect; that Microsoft integrated certain technologies in Windows to exclude Novell and others from certain markets; and that Microsoft used its monopoly power to prevent hardware partners from shipping copies of WordPerfect.
Microsoft immediately shot back with a sharply worded statement, blaming WordPerfect’s performance against Office on Novell’s mismanagement and poor business decisions. Given the 1996 sale of WordPerfect, Microsoft said Novell’s action should be barred under the statue of limitations.
