• Defendants Ordered to Pay Novell More Than $680,000

PROVO, Utah — May 19, 2003 — Novell today announced that it has been awarded a judgment against Computer Commodity, Inc. (CCI) of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and its owner, Michael Jacobson. Novell brought the suit against CCI and Jacobson for copyright and trademark infringement.

In the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, Novell alleged that CCI and Jacobson received possession of, and distributed, Novell® software that was stolen off a dock in Ireland from a Novell contractor. The suit alleged that CCI and Jacobson participated with two other companies in the scheme, AU Industries of Ireland and MBC Enterprises of Salt Lake City, to distribute more than 1,000 copies of the stolen software in the United States. The three parties were offering the software at discounts between 68% and 95% off the price that Novell typically offered to its authorized distributors, thus undercutting Novell's authorized sales channel. Novell has previously settled its cases against AU Industries and MBC Enterprises.

In the ruling, the Court found that CCI and Jacobson acted willfully, despite their claims of innocence. The Court said, "Defendants' evidence of a few phone calls to Novell to ask whether some of the (software) serial numbers were 'good' and not 'registered' is not persuasive of a lack of intent." The Court also stated that even after Novell found out about the software and contacted Jacobson about it, he tried to cover it up and continued to distribute the software. The Court ordered CCI and Jacobson to pay Novell more than $680,000 in damages, costs, and attorney's fees.

"This positive ruling for Novell is a result of a collaborative effort between Novell and its authorized channel partners, many of whom provided Novell with valuable information regarding the activities of the individuals involved in this case," stated Ed Morin, Novell's anti-piracy manager. "By removing this software from the street, we were able to preserve a legitimate revenue stream for those partners."

Novell's Anti-Piracy Group investigates complaints of software piracy in the marketplace and on the Internet, including the illegal use and distribution of Novell's copyrighted software and other materials, as well as the unauthorized use of Novell's trademarks. The Anti-Piracy Group is committed to ensuring that Novell customers receive legitimate, licensed software and that Novell partners receive the appropriate revenues for the distribution of Novell software. To report instances of software piracy or for related inquiries, please visit the anti-piracy web site at http://www.novell.com/piracy or email pirates@novell.com. The Anti-Piracy Group also maintains a toll-free hotline at 1-800 PIRATES (800-747-2837).

Press contacts:
Bruce Lowry
Novell, Inc.
Phone: (415) 591-6523
E-mail: blowry@novell.com

Anti-piracy contact:
Steve Kirk
Novell, Inc.
Phone: (801) 861-8801
E-mail: skirk@novell.com