>>>neither Lotus nor Corel had much to say publicly this week about the case<<<
>>>The companies' reluctance to speak is understandable, said an analyst. "If I was their lawyer, I would advise that being discreetly unavailable would be a good idea," said Amy Wohl, president of Wohl Associates, in Narberth, Pa. "From their standpoint, they have nothing to gain by commenting."<<<
Looks as if Corel had more to say than Lotus...
Next Front: Europe? -- Antitrust Fight Drags On And On...
....Application competitors such as Corel Corp. applauded the focus on Microsoft productivity applications, which are tightly linked with Microsoft's dominant operating system. Observers said OEMs buy suites on a per-system basis because it is cheaper than buying per seat and it is easier to integrate Office than a competitor's product. Some resellers said the reason Office dominates is because it is a better product, again raising the debate of whether antitrust laws are being used to protect consumers or competitors.
"Even though no reseller would want to admit it to you, you can't walk up to an OEM and say, 'I'm going to give you my suite,' " said Eid Eid, president of Corel Computer Corp. and former vice president of technology at Ottawa-based Corel, which develops the WordPerfect suite. "[VARs] say if we don't take Microsoft's Office suite it's going to cost us more. What they have done to Netscape, they have done with office suites."
Microsoft's Office licensing practices have "absolutely" taken money out of Corel's pockets by preventing the company from licensing to OEMs, Eid said.
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