Lawsuit against Novell
PEARL to Acquire Interest in LAN Technology Lawsuit
February 24, 2000
PEARL announces that it has acquired an option to purchase 80% of the outstanding shares of Intellectual Property Resource Corporation (IPRC) of Louisville, Kentucky. IPRC has been investing in patents and enforcing litigation since 1992. The motivation behind PEARL's acquisition of IPRC is its 10.5% carried interest in any proceeds from a patent issued in 1987 covering critical aspects of the local area network technology. The inventor of the technology is Dr. Roger Billings of the International Academy of Science, an educational institution based in Independence, Missouri.
In 1991, the Academy initiated a lawsuit against Novell Inc., a world leader in local area networking technology, demanding $220 million in royalties, which have been accruing ever since. There are a number of other alleged infringers, and a 1993 article in Business Week magazine indicated at that time that the aggregate claim from all of the alleged infringers may be worth $62.5 billion in damages.
The suit was stayed in October, 1994 pending re-examination by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The results of the re-examination and appeal to the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences are anticipated in the near future. Dr. Billings was quoted recently as saying, "I am still hoping for an amicable settlement. The patent is valid and sooner or later Novell is going to have to deal with it." IPRC contributed US$500,000 towards the lawsuit to earn its royalty interest. The terms of PEARL's acquisition are confidential.
For further information, please contact:Brian W. Courtney, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, or Kerry Knoll, Vice-President, Corporate Affairs (416) 860-1438 or 1-800-827-0992, or Renmark Financial Communications (514) 939-3989, website: www.renmarkfinancial.com
The CNDX Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the information contained herein.
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