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Technology Stocks : How high will Microsoft fly? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jim shiau who wrote (3962)	11/10/1997 2:12:00 PM
From: vinod Khurana	Respond to of 74651

Microsoft NDAs Are Standard Practice in High Tech and American Commerce Generally Microsoft Responds to Texas Attorney General REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Responding today to the Attorney General of Texas' lawsuit, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT) said the provisions contained in non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to which Microsoft is a party are standard in the software industry and in American commerce generally. To demonstrate its point, Microsoft this week provided the Senate Judiciary Committee with copies of its NDA, as well as those of Sun Microsystems and Novell, and sample NDAs from lawyers' form books. ''Confidentiality protection is particularly important in high technology industries, where the principal assets of a company typically consist of intellectual property, not any tangible assets,'' said William H. Neukom, Sr. Vice President for Law and Corporate Affairs. ''We either protect our intellectual property or we lose it. At the same time, we fully understand that the government needs to be able to gather relevant information as part of a focused inquiry. Our NDAs do nothing to prevent the government from doing their jobs. ''It is a complete red herring to suggest that ours or any other similar NDA would have a chilling effect on a government inquiry. In light of press reports and statements made by government officials, it appears very unlikely that anyone would be reticent about providing information as part of a government inquiry,'' Neukom said. Federal law provides strong confidentiality protection for information collected by the DOJ in the course of its investigations. Accordingly, Microsoft informed the Department of Justice four years ago and again recently that Microsoft will not require anyone to give notice to Microsoft before providing information to the DOJ. Microsoft has given the DOJ a letter that it can show to any concerned party confirming Microsoft's understanding of the scope of its NDA. Microsoft has previously offered to engage in discussions with the Attorney General's office of the State of Texas to determine if some similar accommodation might be possible under Texas law and procedure that would provide adequate safeguards for Microsoft's intellectual property and other confidential information. Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day. SOURCE Microsoft Corp.