Lawsuit Settlement Ends Educational Software License Agreement
27 December 2004 Merit Software, a New York educational software developer, announced today that its lawsuit against Siboney Corporation has been settled, with Siboney agreeing to pay Merit in excess of $600,000 over the next two years, agreeing to stop selling Merit’s software outside of the “schools” market, and agreeing to termination of Siboney’s license from Merit to sell its software in other markets. Under the settlement agreement, none of the parties admitted liability for any of the claims or counterclaims.
Merit had sued Siboney in June of this year in the Federal District Court in St. Louis for copyright infringement and breach of contract, and asked for damages and termination of the license. The charge of infringement was due to Siboney’s selling Orchard Home software containing Merit’s products. Merit alleged that Siboney’s license did not permit this because the license was limited to the “schools” market. Siboney filed a counterclaim against Merit, alleging numerous breaches of the license agreement and seeking damages.
Siboney agreed in July to immediately stop including Merit software in its Orchard Home products, and now has agreed to stop selling Merit software and to stop including Merit Software in any Siboney products in late 2005.
The current Orchard products that contain Merit Software include ESL Renegades, Grammar Renegades, Word Renegades, Paragraph Power, Reading Concepts and Reading for Critical Thinking. The corresponding Merit products, which will continue to be sold by Merit are: ESL Fitness, Grammar Fitness, Vocabulary Fitness, Paragraph Punch, Accu-Reading, Reading Shape-Up, and Developing Critical Thinking Skills for Effective Reading.
The lawsuit is Civil Action No. 4:04-CV-785 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Eastern Division (St. Louis).
About Merit Software
Merit Software is a leading publisher of educational software. For over fifteen years, Merit Software has focused on the core competencies for grades 3-12 and adult education. Merit Software is a favorite of educators, students and parents nationwide and is currently being used in thousands of educational facilities. Designed with an emphasis on ease of use plus maximum instructional content, Merit Software offers a comprehensive suite of products targeted to educational excellence.
Contact Information:
Ben Weintraub
Merit Software
(212) 675-8567
http://www.meritsoftware.com
Source: eMedia Wire
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