Novell-Microsoft Trial Over WordPerfect Ends as Jurors Deadlock

Novell sought as much as $1.3 billion in damages over allegations that Microsoft, during developing the Windows 95 operating system in 1994, blocked an element of the software to thwart Novell’s WordPerfect and Quattro Pro programs.

Novell, which in a few words owned WordPerfect in the mid-1990s, argued that Microsoft restricted outside programmers’ access to "extensions," or programming code, which made it impossible for Novell’s programs to run properly on Windows.