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1992-11-03
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.ffam NS
.ps 12
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.ta 4.5i
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July 14, 1992 Press Contact:
Donnalyn Frey (703) 764 9342
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In a move with chilling overtones for the computer software
industry, AT&T, through its subsidiary UNIX System Laboratories
(USL), has filed suit in federal court in New Jersey against a
small software developer, Berkeley Software Design, Inc. (BSDI).
The principal issue in the case is USL's contention that the
University of California, Berkeley is distributing software in
violation of its license with AT&T. However, USL has not sued
the University, nor have they stopped the University from
distributing the software in question. Instead, the suit was
filed against BSDI, a distributor of the University's software
and a potential competitor.
At issue in USL's lawsuit is the University's Networking 2
Release software. That software has been licensed to third
parties, including BSDI, as "AT&T-free" and with the statement
that no source code license from AT&T is required. USL has sued
BSDI for falsely advertising that its own licensees need no
source code license from AT&T, a contention that merely mirrors
the University's statements to BSDI.
The basis for the false advertising claim appears to be that
distribution of the University's software without a license from
AT&T violates USL's proprietary rights. However, USL has refused
to state what proprietary rights it thinks are violated or to sue
directly for copyright, patent or trade secret infringement.
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Because USL's complaint is so vague and inconsistent, it fails to
provide even the minimum notice required to properly inform BSDI
of the legal basis for the suit. BSDI has therefore requested
that the court dismiss the suit under Section 12(b)6 of the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Section 12(b)6 states that a
complaint must be adequately formed so that the defendant
understands what it has allegedly done.
Although USL has not sued the University of California, we expect that
USL (or its parent, ATT) will threaten to review or withdraw research
grants made to any university or research institution using or
distributing software based on NET2, even though no violation has yet
been proven.
The nature of the suit against BSDI shows that AT&T's real
motivation is to harass and to attempt to intimidate a potential
competitor. It does not involve any legitimate dispute. AT&T
has now signaled their intent to maintain a monopoly on the Unix
System market by suing anyone who refuses to tithe to them. The
result could be a significant chilling effect on the efforts of
many companies to develop Unix-compatible software products.
While we are flattered that AT&T considers BSDI's product to be
such a significant competitive threat that they feel the need to
file harassing and frivolous suits, we feel obligated to disclose
their actions to the general public. We are therefore providing
a copy of the actual complaint filed, the first set of
interrogatories from USL and BSDI's motion to dismiss.
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