Novell Inc is none too happy about Microsoft Corp’s use of its requester technology in Windows for Workgroups, according to reports in the US edition of PC Week. Novell claims that Microsoft does not have a licence to include the NetWare client technology in Windows for Workgroups, and the publication reports that at NetWorld 92, Novell officials acknowledged sending a letter to Microsoft alleging that the company is breaching a contract under which Novell supplied Microsoft with technology to simplify Windows 3.1 connections to a NetWare server. Including NetWare requesters in a simple desktop system is one thing, but including them in a peer-to-peer local area network is another, and Novell contends that Microsoft has no right to include the client software in the just released Workgroup for Windows software, which will compete directly with Novell’s own NetWare Lite peer-to-peer network operating system. Novell maintains that the contract called for Microsoft to contact Novell if its technology was going to be used in other products, and that Novell had to be involved in the testing and presentation process. Novell officials in the UK were not available for comment, but Microsoft officials confirmed that the dispute was brewing. However, they maintained that the Novell contract covers Windows 3.X, and therefore covers Windows for Workgroups, which is just an extension to it.
