Novell Supports Enterprise Linux Customers with New Linux Indemnification Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 13, 2004

Novell Supports Enterprise Linux Customers with New Linux Indemnification
Program 

- Novell stands behind SUSE LINUX Enterprise software with indemnification
- Novell contractual and intellectual property rights provide legal
foundation against potential copyright infringement claims

PROVO, Utah - Jan. 13, 2004 - Novell today announced it will offer its SUSE
LINUX Enterprise Server customers a new indemnification program designed to
provide an additional measure of protection against certain intellectual
property challenges to Linux. 

With the closing of Novell's acquisition of SUSE LINUX and the addition of
the SUSE LINUX distribution to Novell's product offerings, Novell is now
unique among Linux vendors in offering a full stack Linux solution, providing
global technical support for Linux, and, through its new Novell Linux
Indemnification Program, giving enterprise customers additional reassurance
about deploying Linux in their organizations.

"Novell is committed to the success of Linux," said Jack Messman, chairman
and CEO of Novell. "With our new indemnification program, we are reducing the
barriers to the adoption of Linux in the enterprise." 

Linux and open source solutions have grown rapidly in recent years, moving
from peripheral uses into more business critical functions. As enterprises
consider making strategic investments in Linux, they face the question of
indemnification, a standard component of most traditional proprietary
software offerings but generally unavailable for Linux. Novell's Linux
Indemnification Program will afford qualifying Novell Linux customers a
measure of protection against potential copyright infringement claims. 

"This is an important next step in the industry's move to make Linux safe
from litigation for end customers," said Martin Fink, vice president of
Linux, HP. "Since September, only HP customers have been able to move forward
with confidence in their business-critical Linux environments. We are pleased
to see and are in favor of Novell's effort to extend protection and peace of
mind to its customer base."

Novell's Linux Indemnification Program
Novell's indemnification program is designed for enterprise customers of
Linux. Under the program:
- Indemnification is offered for copyright infringement claims made by third
parties against registered Novell customers who obtain SUSE LINUX Enterprise
Server 8 and who after January 12, 2004 obtain upgrade protection and a
qualifying technical support contract from Novell or a participating Novell
or SUSE LINUX channel partner.
- Customers must accept the program terms and conditions including caps and
other limitations.

Additional details on the program are available at
http://www.novell.com/licensing/indemnity. 

Novell's Unique Legal Rights
Novell also made available today additional information on the unique
contractual and intellectual property rights it holds because of its position
in the historical ownership chain of UNIX* and UnixWare*. These rights
include:
- Novell's rights to license UNIX technology pursuant to a Technology License
Agreement between SCO and Novell, including Novell's right to authorize its
customers to use that UNIX technology in their internal business operations. 
- Novell's rights to take action on behalf of SCO under legacy UNIX SVRX
licenses pursuant to the Asset Purchase Agreement between SCO and Novell.
- As previously confirmed by Novell, copyright registrations on UNIX SVRX
releases, consistent with Novell's position that it retained ownership of
these copyrights. 

Copies of relevant correspondence between Novell and SCO are available at
http://www.novell.com/licensing/indemnity/legal.html. The rights reflected in
these documents are part of the foundation for the indemnification program
Novell is announcing today.

Special Program for Current Linux Users
For those enterprise users of Linux who are not currently Novell SUSE LINUX
customers, Novell will soon announce a special program whereby they can
become Novell SUSE LINUX customers and participate in the indemnification
program. "We believe our new Linux indemnification program, supported by our
unique legal rights, will provide enterprise customers with one more reason
to include Linux in their information technology plans," Messman said.

Forward-looking Statements
This press release includes statements that are not historical in nature and
that may be characterized as "forward-looking statements," including those
related to future financial and operating results, benefits and synergies of
the company's brands and strategies, future opportunities and the growth of
the market for open source solutions.
You should be aware that Novell's actual results could differ materially from
those contained in the forward-looking statements, which are based on current
expectations of Novell management and are subject to a number of risks and
uncertainties, including, but not limited to, Novell's ability to integrate
acquired operations and employees, Novell's success in executing its Linux
strategies, Novell's ability to deliver on its one Net vision of the
Internet, Novell's ability to take a competitive position in the Linux
industry, the outcome of potential Linux-related litigation, business
conditions and the general economy, market opportunities, potential new
business strategies, competitive factors, sales and marketing execution,
shifts in technologies or market demand, and the other factors described in
Novell's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the 2002 fiscal year.
Novell disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking
statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this press
release.

About Novell
Novell, Inc. is a leading provider of information solutions that deliver
secure identity management (Novell® Nsure(TM)), Web application development
(Novell exteNd(TM)) and cross-platform networking services (Novell
Nterprise(TM)), all supported by strategic consulting and professional
services (Novell Ngage(SM)). Active in the open source community with its
Ximian and SUSE LINUX brands, Novell is firmly committed to open source and
offers comprehensive Linux products and services for the enterprise, from the
desktop to the server. Novell's vision of one Net - a world without
information boundaries - helps customers realize the value of their
information securely and economically. For more information, call Novell's
Customer Response Center at (888) 321-4CRC (4272) or visit
http://www.novell.com. Press should visit http://www.novell.com/pressroom.

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Novell is a registered trademarks; Nsure, exteNd and Nteprise are trademarks;
and Ngage is a service mark of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other
countries. SUSE is a registered trademark of SuSE Linux AG. * All third-party
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.


Press Contact:
Bruce Lowry
Novell, Inc.
Phone: (415) 591-6523
E-mail: blowry@novell.com