Novell Sues Microsoft Over WordPerfect
Novell Inc., which this week agreed to a $536-million antitrust settlement with Microsoft Corp., filed a new suit claiming the world’s largest software company stymied competition for word processing software.
Novell accused Microsoft of trying to shut out WordPerfect, a product Novell bought for $1 billion in 1994 and sold two years later for $170 million after it lost market share to Microsoft’s Word.
Novell’s settlement with Microsoft covered claims for its Netware operating system and excluded WordPerfect.
The suit claims Microsoft withheld technical information about the Windows operating system, hurting Novell’s ability to develop WordPerfect software.
From Bloomberg News
* Microsoft Corp. overtook PalmSource Inc. in the third quarter as the maker of the world’s most popular operating system for hand-held computers. Microsoft’s Windows accounted for 48.1% of worldwide shipments of personal digital assistants, up from 41.2% a year earlier, according to research group Gartner. Palm’s share was 29.8%, down from 46.9%.
* Two institutional shareholders of PeopleSoft Inc. filed objections to the company’s agreement to settle a class-action lawsuit over Oracle Corp.’s $8.8-billion hostile takeover bid.
