Timpanogas Research Group Agrees to Permanent Injunction and Payment to End Trade
Secret Litigation with Novell
PROVO, Utah August 28, 1998 Novell, Inc. announced that it has
reached a
settlement in the trade secret misappropriation litigation it filed last year against Timpanogas
Research
Group, Inc. (TRG) and three employees of TRG: Jeff Merkey, Darren Major and Larry Angus.
The
settlement includes a dismissal of all claims filed between the parties, a permanent injunction
against use or
disclosure of Novell's trade secrets, and payment of an undisclosed sum to Novell by
defendants.
Mr. Merkey, CEO of TRG, explained: "I regret what happened here. I mistakenly believed that,
because we
had developed certain technology while employed by Novell, we could take elements of that
technology
with us when we left. We have learned that the law does not work that way. We are pleased to
put this
behind us, and hope to find constructive ways to work together with Novell in the future."
Mr. Major, President of TRG, added, " I too have learned a lot about the law of trade secrets. If
there is a
next time, I will handle things very differently. For now, however, I am pleased to be working on
new
projects for TRG, which projects have nothing in common with my work at Novell."
Novell's General Counsel, David Bradford, said, "It has never been our desire to prevent anyone
from
working in their careers. We have resolved this dispute to Novell's satisfaction, all the while
providing
complete protection for Novell's valuable intellectual property rights."
About Novell
Novell (NASDAQ: NOVL) is the world's leading provider of network software. The company
offers a wide
range of network solutions for distributed network, Internet/intranet and small-business markets,
as well as
the network computing industry's most comprehensive education and technical support programs.
Information about Novell and its complete range of products and services can be accessed on the
World
Wide Web at http://www.novell.com.
Novell Press Contact:
Jonathan Cohen
Phone: (408) 577-7268
Internet: jcohen@novell.com
TRG Contact:
Jeff Merkey
Phone: (801) 222-9129
Fax: (801) 222-9128
Internet: jmerkey@timpanogas.com