See also: W3C staff comments on DRP submission
The following was the enclosure with the message which was received on 1997 August 27
( BW)(NOVADIGM)(NVDM) NOVADIGM Sues Marimba
Business Editors & Hi-Tech Writers
MAHWAH, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--August 27, 1997--
Patent Infringement Lawsuit May Impact
W3C Protocol Submission
Novadigm, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVDM) today said it has warned the
World-Wide Web Consortium (W3C) that elements of the proposed
Distribution and Replication Protocol (DRP) may infringe its
intellectual property rights. The company asked that the consortium
defer consideration of the proposal, pending resolution of a patent infringement lawsuit Novadigm filed against Marimba Inc. in
March 1997.
The lawsuit alleges that Marimba has infringed upon Novadigm's
existing "fractional differencing" patent, issued in December 1996.
Based upon a review of documentation made public by Marimba and
the W3C, Novadigm believes DRP may use techniques similar to its
patented methods, including DRP's use of differential indexing.
Neither company has previously commented publicly on the lawsuit.
Novadigm said it will also notify the other companies involved
in the DRP proposal of its claims against Marimba. Those companies
are: Netscape Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: NSCP), Novell Inc.
(NASDAQ: NOVL), Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: SUNW), and @Home Network
(NASDAQ: ATHM).
"Standards are clearly a positive force in the industry, but
the fact remains that this technology is not Marimba's to give
away," stated Albion Fitzgerald, chairman and chief executive
officer of Novadigm. "We have invested over six years and thousands
of hours in perfecting the technologies needed to solve software
and information distribution problems. This work has resulted in
production implementations on a scale unmatched by any other
vendor."
"Marimba is a start-up which has garnered much attention, but
apparently does not respect our property rights. We think that
Marimba's sudden magnanimous decision to abandon their own patent
process and donate the technology to open standards should be
seen in the light of our already granted patent and the ongoing
litigation as an exploitative action without regard to the obvious intellectual property issues involved. We own this technology
and we're going to vigorously defend it, even as Marimba works
aggressively to use and claim credit for it."
Fitzgerald said Novadigm was surprised by Marimba's DRP
proposal, announced yesterday, and is unable to say whether the
partner companies knew of the infringement claim. "We've remained
silent about the litigation in order to facilitate a resolution by
the legal and patent processes we are all supposed to adhere to,
but dragging the W3C and the Internet community unknowingly into
the middle of the dispute is a particularly inappropriate tactic.
We think Marimba either didn't inform the other companies and the
W3C of the lawsuit or told them only one side of it," Fitzgerald
said. "We are hoping the WC3 and Marimba's partners will take
an equitable and arms-length approach as the matter proceeds
through the courts."
Novadigm's counsel advised that the case is in discovery stages
and that Novadigm is investigating the nature and scope of Marimba's
alleged infringement.
About The Patent
Novadigm's Patent (Number 5,581,764) "Distributed Computer
Network Including Hierarchical Resource Information Structure
and Related Method of Distributing Resources" describes the
processes needed to generate from a common reference model a
unique content configuration for each target end user, and to
"difference" the "desired state" configuration with the
actual-state of the target, yielding highly granular and very
specific updates to distributed content automatically. The
patent covers two central areas:
· Desired state configuration - processes which incorporate
essential elements of both "push" and "pull" distribution models.
By generating from a common reference model a unique user
configuration which describes the specific software or content
a target user should have, producers can automatically 'push'
content to specific servers, desktops, or users; or groups of
users. In addition, the 'pull' process provides a means for users
to control when the flow of information takes place, what
information is delivered, and where it is stored.
· Fractional Differencing - processes for comparing and
contrasting the desired state configuration identifying what
components a target should have with the resources it actually
has, resulting in a concise and highly detailed difference
configuration describing what components are needed - or should
be removed - to ensure the targeted user is properly configured
with a minimum of network traffic.
The technologies protected by the patent are incorporated
into Novadigm's Enterprise Desktop Manager(tm) software management
solution. That product is used by some of the most demanding and
complex information technology organizations world-wide. They are
also the basis for new Novadigm products which will address
requirements for efficient desktop management in the Internet
environment.
About Novadigm
Novadigm is a leading provider of distributed software
management solutions that reduce the cost and complexity of
managing client/server, packaged and Internet software. The
company's products use a patented 'desired-state' automation
platform to distribute software across thousands of desktops
and servers without manual intervention. The company licenses
its products to Fortune 5000 IT organizations, software vendors,
and service providers around the World. Novadigm's common stock
trades on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange under the symbol "NVDM".
More information on Novadigm, Inc. can be found on the World
Wide Web at http://www.novadigm.com/ or by calling 800-626-6682.
# # #
Note To Editors -- Novadigm, EDM, and Enterprise Desktop Manager
are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Novadigm, Inc.
All other product, trademark, company, or service names mentioned
herein are the property of their respective owners. Novadigm, Inc.
is not affiliated with Novadyne Computer Systems, Inc. of
Reston, VA.
CONTACT: Novadigm, Inc.
Dale Gardner, 703/771-6075
daleg@novadigm.com
URL: http://www.novadigm.com