WordPerfect, a once-popular software program, is making something
of a comeback — this time as Exhibit A in Novell Inc.’s
multibillion-dollar antitrust suit against Microsoft Corp.
The lawsuit is a byproduct of the U.S. government’s landmark case
against Microsoft that was settled more than six years ago, after
the world’s biggest software maker was declared an illegal
monopolist. A handful of other private suits against Microsoft still
await resolution, and no claim is bigger than Novell’s.
Novell briefly owned WordPerfect in the mid-1990s and says
Microsoft’s anti-competitive tactics undermined the product.
WordPerfect’s share of the word-processing market fell to less than
10 percent in 1996 from almost 50 percent in 1990.
While Novell no longer owns WordPerfect, it is pursuing the
lawsuit in what experts say is a long-shot bid for a big windfall.
The company, whose revenue has fallen 18 percent in the past five
years, is struggling to develop its business as a seller of Linux
operating system software.
“Novell felt they had a lottery ticket they didn’t want to rip up
until they knew how much it was worth,” said Bill Whyman, head of
technology research for International Strategy and Investment, a
Washington-based investment advice firm.
Microsoft asked the U.S. Supreme Court last week to quash the
lawsuit.
In the aftermath of the federal antitrust suit, Microsoft has
paid almost $5 billion to settle claims it damaged competitors such
as Sun Microsystems Inc., International Business Machines Corp. and
RealNetworks Inc. Microsoft, based in Redmond, Wash., also agreed to
issue more than $2.7 billion in vouchers for software to end claims
it overcharged consumers for the Windows operating system that runs
95 percent of the world’s personal computers.
Microsoft says Novell’s claims, filed in 2004, lack merit because
the company was neither a competitor nor customer in the operating-
software market when it owned WordPerfect.
Novell, based in Waltham, Mass., doesn’t comment on pending
litigation, said John Dragoon, a senior vice president for
marketing.
While the government suit against Microsoft in the United States
was…