WordPerfect Corp. and Microsoft settled a dispute over who can claim to have the most popular word processing program in the world.
But what they decided will apparently remain a secret. A press release jointly issued by the two companies Wednesday only states that the matter has been resolved "to their mutual satisfaction."WordPerfect withdrew an application for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction filed in U.S. Federal Court in New York. It also had the court dismiss its lawsuit with prejudice - which means it can not be brought back before the court.
"All I can say is we've resolved the dispute to our mutual satisfaction," said R. Duff Thompson, general counsel for WordPerfect.
He added that WordPerfect was more than satisfied with the resolution and suggested people "read the tea leaves over the next few weeks" to see exactly what conclusion the two companies reached.
WordPerfect filed a complaint against rival Microsoft Friday to prevent the company from claiming its word processor is the most popular in the world in a recently launched advertising campaign.
In one version of the ad, WordPerfect's name graces the top of the page, with the statement "The World's Most Popular Word Processor" underneath. A thick black line is scratched through "Perfect," leaving only "Word."
Word is the name of Microsoft's word processing application.
Text at the bottom of the ad states that "over 1 million word-processor users have made the same correction" and that its product is "the perfect choice."
WordPerfect claimed the ad violated U.S. federal trademark statutes prohibiting false and decep-tive claims.
"All the data of which we are aware indicates that WordPerfect is the most popular word processor in the world. We intend to establish that fact in this case," Thompson said at the time the suit was filed.