InterOP floor
GAV...@aces.com
Hmmm. I don't remember where I picked this one up from...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 29, 1992
Contact:
Paul Rasmussen
TGV, Inc.
(408) 427-4366
Tom Woolf
Media Relations
(415) 508-1554
Wollongong Claim to MultiNet Copyright Rejected
Arbitrators Rule In Favor of SRI International and TGV, Inc.,
After Two-Year Arbitration
SAN FRANCISCO -- The American Arbitration Association today announced
their decision in an arbitration rejecting the claims of The
Wollongong Group to rights to the MultiNet TCP/IP software solution
for Digital's OpenVMS operating system. TGV, Inc., and SRI
International were sued by The Wollongong Group, Inc. in federal
court in 1989, and the arbitration was ordered by the court in May,
1990. In the suit, Wollongong claimed that a 1982 license between SRI
and Wollongong granted it exclusive rights to the MultiNet software.
SRI and TGV denied that the 1982 license covered MultiNet, and SRI
also asserted that Wollongong had breached the 1982 license by failing
to pay all of the royalties due.
The binding arbitration decision rejected the Wollongong claim that
MultiNet was licensed to it, and further found in SRI's favor that
Wollongong had failed to pay all royalties due. The arbitrators also
ordered Wollongong to pay $144,678.10 in administrative costs and fees
for the arbitration. A second phase of the arbitration will be held
to determine the precise amount Wollongong will have to pay to SRI.
Further proceedings are expected to be held in federal court on the
copyright infringement claim brought by SRI and TGV involving
Wollongong's sale of its WIN/TCP for VMS product. SRI and TGV are
represented by the Morrison & Foerster law firm.
Wollongong had filed an earlier lawsuit against TGV in California
Superior Court in 1988, also attempting to claim rights to the
MultiNet software. In 1989, the California Court ruled against
Wollongong, and that decision was affirmed by the California Court of
Appeal, and later the California Supreme Court.
"Wollongong has been suing us from the day we were founded," said
David Kashtan, President of TGV. "This is, we believe, Wollongong's
last attempt to claim exclusive rights to MultiNet. We're happy to be
able to now devote our efforts to developing new MultiNet products to
support new platforms, such as Novell's NetWare and Digital's Alpha
AXP."
TGV, Inc., designs, manufactures, markets, and supports
standards-based networking and application software for Digital
Equipment Corporation's OpenVMS systems. TGV, Inc., is located at 603
Mission Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060; telephone: 1-800-TGV-3440, or
(408) 427-4366.
-30-
MultiNet is a registered trademark of TGV, Inc. VMS, OpenVMS, Alpha
AXP, and VAX are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation. All
other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
