Novell, CCIA Highlight Legal News

Novell and the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), two longtime legal adversaries of Microsoft, have reached antitrust settlements with the company and withdrawn as interveners in the European Commission’s (EC’s) antitrust case against the company. However, the Novell settlement covers only products and businesses that Novell currently owns, and days after it was reached, Novell filed a new antitrust claim over WordPerfect, a word-processing program it owned in the 1990s.

Novell Settles, Sues

Novell and Microsoft have reached a settlement under which Novell will not pursue private antitrust claims against Microsoft on any product that Novell currently owns, including NetWare. Novell will also withdraw as an intervener in the antitrust case filed by the EC, the administrative body that oversees European Union (EU) antitrust law. In exchange, Microsoft will pay Novell US$536 million and release counterclaims against NetWare. The settlement came as a result of private mediation between the companies.