SOFTWARE INDUSTRY Microsoft pays $536 million to Novell to settle antitrust case

Microsoft says it faces up to $950 million in remaining antitrust claims.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Software giant Microsoft Corp. opened its wallet again Monday to clear more of its courtroom problems, paying $536 million to rival Novell Inc. and an undisclosed smaller amount to a trade group that had backed antitrust complaints by the U.S. government and the European Union.
Novell, a bitter, decades-long rival of Microsoft, said despite the huge payoff that it intends to file an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft this week over damage a decade ago to its once-popular WordPerfect business software.
The payments announced Monday, however, were enough to persuade both Novell and the Washington-based Computer and Communications Industry Association to pull out of the legal case against Microsoft in the European Union, which has determined Microsoft abused its industry dominance and fined it $600 million.
Microsoft previously spent $2.4 billion settling antitrust and other claims by AOL Time Warner Inc. and Sun Microsystems Inc., both significant supporters of the European case. Microsoft has staggering cash reserves of about $64.4 billion.
Netware operating system
Novell said the $536 million agreement resolves antitrust claims involving the Netware operating system for connecting computers across networks, which competes with Microsoft's dominant Windows software. Joseph A. LaSala Jr., Novell's general counsel, called it a significant settlement.
Microsoft predicted Monday in financial disclosure documents that it still could face up to $950 million in exposure for remaining antitrust claims, including the court cases expected or already filed by Novell and RealNetworks Inc.
Microsoft restated its first-quarter financial results to reflect Monday's announcements, adjusting earnings down to $2.53 billion and earnings per share to 23 cents. Novell's earnings for its latest quarter was $14 million.
Novell said it will allege in its upcoming antitrust lawsuit that Microsoft acted illegally during the mid-1990s when its Office business software eclipsed the popularity of Novell's WordPerfect word-processing program. The WordPerfect lawsuit will seek unspecified damages.
The Computer and Communications Industry Association, which has fought Microsoft vigorously on legal fronts for more than a decade, did not disclose the size of its payment. People familiar with the deal, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was a fraction of the amount paid to Novell.