Novell sues Microsoft

October 1, 2001 Posted: 0020 GMT

NEW YORK (CNNfn) -- Novell Inc. filed suit against Microsoft Corp. Monday for allegedly making false and misleading statements about Novell and its network operating system in an advertisement.

Novell (NOVL: Research, Estimates) said it is seeking "injunctive relief to immediately stop dissemination of the false and misleading statements by Microsoft, in addition to seeking corrective advertising, a recall of the false advertising and unspecified money damages."

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City, alleges an advertisement headlined "Microsoft Server Crunch" and distributed to Novell customers in the shape of a cereal box claimed Novell is shifting its focus to consulting from software development.

Novell said the ad also stated its NetWare operating systems has a "sell-by" date and will leave customers without full support.

"These questions and statement are completely false and misleading," said Stewart Nelson, Novell chief operating officer, in a statement. "Microsoft ahs tried to create a fictitious end of life for NetWare to create fear and uncertainty within Novell's customer base and to discourage future customers from doing business with Novell."

A spokesman for Microsoft (MSFT: Research, Estimates) said they had not received a copy of the complaint and could not comment further.

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