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Caldera and Microsoft Settle Lawsuit

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the settle-down dept.

Hallow writes "While terms of the agreement remain confidential, according to a C:Net story, Caldera and Microsoft have settled out of court with Microsoft making a one-time only payment of about $150 million USD. This is much lower than the 1.6 billion in damages Caldera was seeking." Well, yes. Personally, I don't think Microsoft likes their chances in court these days.

3 of 277 comments (clear)

  1. Some Facts: Caldera != CalderaSystems by andersen · · Score: 5
    Caldera, Inc. (Holding Company, owner of DR-DOS -- CEO Bryan Sparks) is the parent company of Lineo, Inc. (Embedded Linux, exclusive licensee of DR-DOS -- CEO Bryan Sparks). Caldera, Inc. used to be the parent company of Caldera Systems, Inc. (CEO Ransom Love), but Caldera Systems purchased its way out from under Caldera. This lawsuit has absolutely nothing to do with Caldera Systems. Wanna check? See http://www.lineo.com/ for the press release. Next, check out http://www.calderasystems.com/ and you will see nothing. Nada. Zip.

    Furthermore, the math that folks have been doing (i.e. 3 cents per share * # shares microsoft) is flawed. Nobody really knows how much MS is actually paying, and nobody is going to tell either. I don't know, but I feel very confident that the total amount is much more than the alledged 150 million. Of course I don't know, since nobody around here will talk numbers (per the agreement with MS).

    I am an employee of Lineo, but I'm not speaking for them (as if they would trust me).

    --
    -Erik -- --This message was written using 73% post-consumer electrons--
  2. In the news by Ledge+Kindred · · Score: 5
    Today, Microsoft and Caldera settled their long-standing lawsuit in which Caldera claimed Microsoft used its dominance with Windows 3.1 eliminate DR-DOS, which Caldera obtained from Novell in 1996, as a competing operating system.

    Bryan Sparks, CEO of Caldera said, "We are happy to have finally settled this lawsuit to the satisfaction of both companies" while casting furtive glances at the two hulking, brutish men in black suits, dark glasses and Microsoft employee badges standing behind him.

    -=-=-=-=-

    --

    -=-=-=-=-
    My mom's going to kick you in the face!

  3. For those thinking Caldera shouldn't of settled by spaceorb · · Score: 5

    Caldera, on their site http://www.drdos.com gives an answer as to why they settled and what they think they were achieving here

    An excerpt from their Q&A page:

    Q: I thought Caldera filed the case based on principals (or to change behavior), not just to collect money. What did you accomplish?

    A: We actually believe that we accomplished several things during this process.

    1. We led out on the recent series of investigations into Microsoft's business practices. When we filed our case in July 1996, no other private company or government agency was publicly investigating Microsoft's monopoly-related behavior. Netscape, SUN, Bristol, the DOJs recent case, and several class action suits all followed our filing.

    2. We told the story. Many new facts regarding Microsoft's business conduct were made public during the lengthy pre-trial period of our case.

    3. We stood up against them. We believe that our actions will have a deterring effect against future misconduct. We have demonstrated that it is possible to successfully file a lawsuit against Microsoft and have a positive result.

    4. We helped to brand Linux as a legitimate competitor to Windows. Our lawsuit, combined with the governments case, helped publicize and legitimize the Linux brand. We believe that as a result of these lawsuits, Caldera Systems, Lineo and other Linux companies are stronger competitors to Microsoft, now and in the future.