Novell Files Software Piracy Suit Against KIS Technology, Inc.
Orem, Utah, -- July 19, 1995 -- Novell, Inc. today announced it
has filed a civil action suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of
Maryland against KIS Technology, Inc. of Gaithersberg Maryland, a
software distributor, alleging infringement of Trademark and Tradedress
as well as fraudulent abuse of Novell's Upgrade License Program.
The suit follows Novell's discovery in March and April of 1995
that counterfeit versions of the NetWare# network operating system
were being sold from the Netherlands and other locations into Eastern
Europe, including Poland and the Czech Republic. Pursuant to an order
given by a Dutch court, a raid was conducted in the Netherlands on May
3rd, 1995 by Novell and a court appointed bailiff to search De La Mar
Management and Services B.V., a Dutch software distributor.
During the raid, investigators seized Novell upgrade product that
had been re-labeled and placed in counterfeit packaging to give the
appearance of Novell original product. Documentation seized indicated
that the counterfeit product had been obtained by De La Mar from KIS
Technology, Inc.
David Bradford, Novell Senior Vice President and General
Counsel, said, "Novell continues to aggressively pursue civil and, where
appropriate, criminal sanctions against individuals and companies that
pirate our software, misappropriate Novell intellectual property, or
otherwise victimize our customers. Novell is determined to protect our
copyrights across our entire family of system software, network
application, and information access products. We will continue to ensure
our customers of the performance, value, and serviceability that they
have come to expect from Novell."
Novell has established an anti-piracy group and telephone hotline
for reporting illegal use of Novell software or making related inquiries.
Call 1-800 PIRATES (801-747-2837) or send E-Mail to
pirates@novell.com.
|