fenne...@jeeves.eng.sematech.org (Quentin Fennessy,3rd flr x3841)
wrote:

  Chuck Karish        kar...@mindcraft.com
  Mindcraft, Inc.     (415) 323-9000 x117

-----------------

The following press release was sent out over the business wire on Monday
October 11, 1993.

For Information:

X/OPEN CO., LTD.
1010 El Camino Real
#380
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Jeff Hansen
Director, Marketing Communications
(415) 323-7992

or

REGIS McKENNA INC.
1755 Embarcadero Road
Palo Alto, CA 94303
Elizabeth Chaney or Craig Broadbent
(415) 494-2030

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

X/Open Receives UNIX Trademark From Novell

Furthers Freedom of Choice for Customers
Solidifies Industry Commitment to Unified UNIX Specification
        TRENTON, New Jersey -- October 11, 1993 -- X/Open Company Ltd.
        today announced an agreement with Novell, Inc. (NASDAQ:  NOVL)
under which the UNIX trademark will be transferred to X/Open, the
leading international open systems standards organization.
 This agreement is solid evidence of the industry-wide commitment to
 deliver a single compatible UNIX specification to customers.  It will
increase users' choice of open systems suppliers that conform to
pragmatic industry standards and enable software developers to market
and maintain single UNIX product versions.
        This agreement reinforces and extends the announcement made on
September 1, in which 75 computer manufacturers and software developers
agreed to adopt a common application programming interface
specification, known as Spec 1170.  This specification is based upon
the UNIX operating system and added features, and will assure
application portability across multiple systems architectures.
        The registered trademark, UNIX, represents one of the assets
transferred to Novell through its acquisition of UNIX System
Laboratories (USL) on June 14, 1993, and was formerly the property of
AT&T Bell Laboratories, where the UNIX operating system was developed
in 1969.  Also announced today, Novell, Inc. will join X/Open as a full
shareholder and member of the X/Open board of directors.
        Speaking at the announcement, X/Open president and CEO Geoff Morris
said, "The market now has a single specification that ensures
compatibility of all UNIX systems, governed by the quality and value
represented by the X/Open brand.  This agreement unifies the open
systems industry around one UNIX specification and will eliminate the
basic incompatibilities that previously existed between various UNIX
implementations.  The X/Open brand will provide users with a single
specification that assures compatibility across all compliant systems
throughout their organization."
        In the future, all systems bearing the name UNIX will be tested and
branded by X/Open, thus providing assurance of conformance and quality
to the buyer.  The UNIX trademark will be integrated into X/Open's
wider open systems specifications which also address areas of system
management, network management, and the desktop environment.  The
assurances guaranteed through the X/Open branding practices will allow
UNIX to be better managed, better controlled and better protected than
ever before.
        By late 1994, X/Open will develop and implement this extension to the
branding program which will include full test suites for conformance.
UNIX system vendors have agreed to comply with this program in order to
use the UNIX trademark.  Software developers who create applications
based upon Spec 1170 can have a high degree of confidence that their
applications will run unaltered on systems from different vendors using
the same microprocessor architectures.  In addition, they will be able
to run across multiple architectures with a simple recompile.  In the
past, applications frequently had to be rewritten to run on different
systems.
        "Novell acquired the UNIX operating system to help make it universal,"
said Ray Noorda, president and CEO of Novell, Inc.  "We are
transferring the UNIX trademark to X/Open because we believe an open
systems standard cannot be owned by a single vendor.  We also believe
that a single specification with many implementations is essential to
providing customers the variety of choices they want in building a
networked computing environment that fits their specific needs.  We are
confident in the stewardship of X/Open as the new home for the UNIX
trademark, and we are confident that the industry can work
cooperatively to provide a strong open system alternative for the
marketplace."
        X/Open will make the UNIX trademark available immediately to vendors'
products which are currently in conformance with XPG (XPG3 BASE or XPG4
BASE) and SVID (version 2 or 3), and are derived from USL operating
system technology.  Vendors meeting these criteria, committing to
compliance with Spec 1170, and entering into a trademark agreement with
X/Open, will be permitted to call their products UNIX.  These suppliers
will also be required to demonstrate compliance to Spec 1170 once test
suites are available.
        X/Open will manage and protect the use of the UNIX trademark in the
interest of the industry.  Users of the UNIX trademark will pay license
fees to X/Open based upon volume of UNIX system products shipped.
X/Open, founded in 1984, is a worldwide, independent, open systems
organization dedicated to providing a unified path to open systems
specification and implementation.
        This unification is achieved through the close cooperation and
integration of input from users, vendors, and standards organizations
worldwide.  The X/Open specification, which covers both
interoperability and applications portability elements, is based on de
facto and international standards.  X/Open operates a test and
verification process for products developed in line with its
specification, and awards its brand as the mark of compliance.

# # #

X/Open and the "X" device are registered trademarks of X/Open Company Ltd. in
the United Kingdom and other countries.  

UNIX is a registered trademark, licensed exclusively by X/Open Company Ltd.
ENDS

Q&A-------------------

Q1.     How much will UNIX trademark licensees pay for use of the brand?

A1.     X/Open will charge fees based on the volume of UNIX system
        products shipped.
        These   fees are currently under consideration.

Q2.     Has X/Open made any payment to Novell under this agreement?

A2.     X/Open has made no payment.  However, Novell is compensated by
        a 3-year Shareholder membership of X/Open and a 3-year
        royalty-free UNIX license.

Q3.     Does this agreement mean that X/Open is breaking with tradition and
        effectively paying for technology?

A3.     No.  The specification for the UNIX operating system is defined
        by the Common   APIs to UNIX-based operating systems
        specification, commonly referred to comprehensively supported
        in the industry and will be widely available in the market.
        Today's announcement concerns use of the trademarked brand
        name, UNIX.

Note: Spec 1170 represents the number of interfaces included in the complete
operating system specification, comprising the existing XPG4 Base and the
additional interfaces included in the "Common API" specification.  "Spec 1770"
refers to the combination of the Common API specification and XPG4 Base.

Q4.     Will Novell continue to control UNIX?

A4.     No.  From today, the APIs which define UNIX will be controlled
        by X/Open and managed through the company's proven open
        industry consensus processes.

Novell will continue to own one product (a single implementation of UNIX)
which currently conforms to the specification.  Novell is clearly free to
evolve that product in any way that it chooses, but may only continue to call
it UNIX if it maintains conformance to the X/Open specifications.

Q5.     Are there test suites available for UNIX, and if not, who will develop
        them?

A5.     X/Open is now responsible for the development of test suites to
        measure 1170 conformance.  A number of these suites currently
        exist within the X/Open Verification Suite family.

Q6.     How will the future evolution of UNIX be managed?

A6.     The future specification of the UNIX operating system will be
        managed under X/Open's proven procedures.  This agreement
        allows for continued innovation through multiple compatible
        implementations of a single UNIX specification.

Q7.     How does this agreement affect X/Open's current branding scheme?

A7.     UNIX is now a single, branded set of operating system API
        specifications.  This is complementary with other brand
        offerings from X/Open which address different market needs.
        This specification is entirely complementary with X/Open's
        branding policy.

Q8.     Will the terms of the current UNIX license change?

A8.     There will be no immediate changes in usage for current licensees.
        Companies using the name UNIX without a current license are
        advised to contact X/Open as soon as possible.

Q9.     Is X/Open becoming purely a UNIX organization?

A9.     No.  X/Open specifications extend beyond the confines of the
        operating system to include security, data communications, data
        management and user interface. In addition to UNIX, other
        operating system technologies carry the X/Open brand.

Q10.    Why does X/Open want to the keeper of the UNIX trademark?

A10.    The addition of the specifications within Spec 1170, now
        governed by the UNIX trademark, is directly in line with
        X/Open's mission to deliver the benefits of open systems to the
        market because it further eliminates incompatibilities.

        By using the recognized UNIX trademark and applying it to the
        widely supported Spec 1170, continued fragmentation may be
        reduced and with it confusion among users by assuring multiple,
        compatible implementations based on a single, accepted
        specification.

Q11.    How will X/Open accommodate this new responsibility?  What effect will
        it have on resources and priorities?

A11.    X/Open is committed to the effective management of the UNIX
        trademark and will employ appropriate resources to do so.
        Current work programs within X/Open will not be affected.   It
        is expected that the incremental revenues derived from
        management of the UNIX trademark will cover X/Open's additional
        costs.

Q12.    Will customers now purchase the UNIX source code from X/Open?

A12.    No, X/Open will now control the UNIX trademark only.  Source
        code must be obtained from a vendor company.  Those people who
        wish to use the Novell/USL source code in their implementation,
        will need to contact Novell/USL.
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Volume-Number: Volume 32, Number 84