NOVELL RECEIVES CASH SETTLEMENT IN SOFTWARE PIRACY CASE
New York Company Pays $625,000 to Resolve Copyright and Trademark Infringement
Claims
PROVO, Utah , Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) announced that it has settled its lawsuit against Computer Add-Ons Inc. of Flushing, N.Y., for copyright and trademark infringement.
The settlement includes cash payment of $625,000 already received by Novell as well as a permanent injunction preventing Computer Add-Ons from dealing in Novell products without Novell's written consent.
Novell filed the suit in October 1998 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, alleging that Computer Add-Ons tampered with the packaging of Novell upgrade software to make it appear as original software. Computer Add-Ons then sold the tampered products to customers who were not eligible for upgrades. The suit further alleged that Computer Add-Ons used the Novell and NetWare trademarks as well as the Novell logo in their advertising to create the impression that they were an authorized partner of Novell, when, in fact, they were not. "This is another case demonstrating Novell's continued support for its channel by taking action against those who compete unfairly and engage in this type of illegal activity," stated David Bradford, senior vice president and general counsel for Novell. "In order to protect our customers and to assist our partners dealing in legitimate Novell products, our approach to combating piracy must continue to be aggressive."
Novell investigated over 1,300 cases worldwide in fiscal 1998. More than $11 billion each year is lost to software piracy, according to the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA). Novell is an active member of both the BSA and SIIA. Novell has established an anti-piracy group and telephone hotline for reporting illegal use of Novell software or making related inquiries. Call 1-800 PIRATES (800-747-2837) or send e-mail to pirates@novell.com. The anti-piracy group also has a Web site at www.novell.com/piracy. |
