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To: Bill Harmond who wrote (73939)	8/16/1999 3:00:00 AM
From: H James Morris	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

>>The float is the count of trading inventory. << William, who decides what the the trading inventory will be? The under-writer or the company? Or both? Is it based on what supply and demand might be? I'm serious! I don't know. I saw on Cnbc last week the Ceo of Hlth, he was being grilled about his company losses, and Mark Haines really got into the coming increase in his float. I do know this by now, that those who own most of the seats in a stadium, get to influence the ticket price IF it appears the concert might be sold out. Now the only risk I have is what happens if no one wants to buy the remaining seats? Morgan Stanley's retail division should take care of this concern. Don't you think?

To: Bill Harmond who wrote (73939)	8/16/1999 7:05:00 PM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Respond to of 164684

FOCUS-Court denies AOL's "You Have Mail" trademark (adds lawyers comments, context throughout, stock prices, byline, pvs WASHINGTON) By Eric Auchard NEW YORK, Aug 16 (Reuters) - AT&T Corp. <T.N> said it won the go-ahead on Friday from a U.S. court to use the slogan "You have mail" popularized by rival Internet services provider America Online Inc. <AOL.N>, in the latest setback to AOL's efforts to defend the consumer online turf it dominates. Dulles, Va.-based America Online had filed suit against telecommunications giant AT&T last December seeking to block AT&T's WorldNet Internet access service from use of expressions like "you have mail," "IM," and "buddy list" -- terms that echo popular names of key AOL e-mail and communications features. Basking Ridge, N.J.-based AT&T said the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted AT&T summary judgment regarding the use of "you have mail" and the other terms as generic expressions that are the property of no one. In ruling in favor of AT&T and against AOL, Chief Judge Hilton concluded that AOL cannot claim the expressions at issue as trademarks nor prevent any party from using these terms. In effect, everyone on the Internet may use them, AT&T said. "AOL's claim that it owns the everyday language of the Internet is another example of AOL's attempt to monopolize all aspects of services over the Internet," AT&T General Counsel Jim Cicconi said in a statement hailing the court decision. America Online fell $1-3/8 to $95-1/2 on the New York Stock Exchange, where it was the most active issue in mid-afternoon trading Monday. AT&T lost at 7/16 to trade at $48-3/4, also on the New York Stock Exchange. AOL said in a separate statement that the company plans to appeal the judge's decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals, where it said it believed the issue will ultimately be decided. "We believe that the court's decision incorrectly interprets well-established foundations of trademark law, and we are appealing it," AOL General Counsel Paul Cappuccio said, adding that, "We are confident that the ruling will be reversed." The verdict grows out of a lawsuit filed Dec. 22, 1998 by America Online against AT&T, one week after AT&T's WorldNet unit announced plans for an instant electronic messaging to compete with AOL's well-established Instant Messenger system. America Online sued AT&T shortly after the release of the Warner Bros. movie "You've Got Mail," claiming that no one else could use the phrase "you have mail" to notify e-mail users that they have mail. "You've Got Mail" is the greeting that the more than 17 million subscribers to America Online's flagship AOL Internet access service hear each time they connect to AOL. The company has widely promoted the friendly -- if grammatically dubious -- catchphrase in its television and radio marketing campaigns. In its suit, AOL also asserted exclusive rights to "IM" and "buddy list," the terminology it uses for Instant Messenger, a service which lets roughly 40 million Internet users know when friends, family members and colleagues are online, allowing them to exchange messages instantaneously. Shortly after filing the lawsuit last December, America Online was denied a request for a temporary restraining order against AT&T's use of the expressions and AT&T has used the terms on its own Internet services since then. In the past month the battle has expanded to include Microsoft Corp. <MSFT.O>, Yahoo! Inc. <YHOO.O> and others, who have joined AT&T in introducing instant messages systems to rival America Online's own Instant Messenger. AT&T lawyer Cicconi said of the latest ruling: "This decision also deals a setback to AOL's efforts to keep a stranglehold over Instant Messaging." Company spokesman Ritch Blasi added: "We will continue to use (the phrases). And we hope that others who have been waiting for the outcome of this case will begin using them now." ...