Novell files suit over mud slinging

Novell has accused the owner of a Salt Lake City distributor of defamation, the latest shot in a long-running battle between the two companies over alleged copyright infringement.

In June 1995, Novell began a lawsuit against Mark Bondiett, owner of hardware and software distributor Network Trade Center, accusing him of buying old copies of Netware and using them to get authorised distributors to give him upgrades.

He then allegedly sold the upgrades to Netware licensees, who were not eligible to buy upgrades because they had not bought the original licences.

In response, Bondiett filed a $834 million counterclaim accusing the software giant of antitrust violations and anti-competitive practices.

In December, Novell accused Bondiett of defamation through a series of press releases. In one, he alleged that Novell manipulated prices to hurt resellers it did not like. Novell's defamation suit says the firm has been damaged by such comments.