Novell's case against Microsoft goes to jury

PAUL FOY
Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A two-month trial is ending in a Utah company's $1 billion antitrust case against Microsoft Corp.

A federal judge says he will turn the case over to a seven-woman, five-man jury on Wednesday morning.

Novell Inc. claims Microsoft duped it into developing the once-popular WordPerfect writing program for Windows 95 only to pull the plug so Microsoft could gain market share with its own product.

Novell says it was later forced to sell WordPerfect for a $1.2 billion loss.

Microsoft counters that Novell made a series of poor business choices that left WordPerfect struggling to catch up with Windows technology.

Novell acquired WordPerfect in 1994. The company - founded by a Brigham Young University professor and a graduate student - was wildly successful in the 1980s, making billions of dollars.

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