Dutch Court Rules in Ongoing Litigation Between Iomega and Nomai.

ROY, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 23, 1998--Iomega(R) Corp. (NYSE:IOM) Monday announced that on Thursday, Feb. 19, 1998, the District Court of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, ruled that Nomai S.A. is prohibited from using any XHD packaging that incorporates images resembling Iomega's familiar block Zip(R) 100 logo.

All such infringing images or flags must be removed within eight days of the ruling. Nomai must also refrain from using the packaging initially complained of by Iomega which, among other things, infringed on Iomega's Zip trademark. Any violation by Nomai is subject to a daily fine, up to a maximum fine of one million Dutch guilders. Iomega's remaining requests for preliminary injunctive relief were denied.

In the same ruling, the Amsterdam District Court preliminarily determined, based on the record before it, that certain Iomega software, recorded on all Zip disks, is not protectable under Dutch copyright law.

Additionally, with respect to Nomai's complaint that the sole purpose of the light baffle, included in Zip notebook drives, was to exclude XHD disks, the Court preliminarily ordered Iomega to remove the light baffle from the limited quantity of notebook Zip drives in the possession of European Community distributors and to refrain from including the baffle in notebook Zip drives for the European Community market, subject to a daily fine up to a total maximum penalty of ten million Dutch guilders.

Iomega believes that these aspects of the Courts findings are erroneous and plans to appeal the corresponding portions of the Amsterdam decision; Nomai's remaining claims for relief were denied.

"We are pleased that the Court's ruling will protect consumers from the confusion that would result from Nomai's blatant infringement of Iomega's Zip trademark and Zip 100 flag logo. We hope consumers will continue to look for the Zip 100 flag, that marks the tens of millions of genuine Zip 100 disks sold to Zip drive owners, to reliably store and share their valuable information," said Laurie B. Keating, Iomega's senior vice president and general counsel.

"However, the Amsterdam Court's ruling on Iomega's light baffle puts consumers at risk of inadvertently damaging their notebook Zip drives which may result in unrecoverable data loss. This aspect of the court's decision is a setback for consumers."

The light baffle in Iomega notebook Zip drives serves to protect consumers from accidentally damaging the drive's heads by inserting an inappropriate disk, such as a conventional 1.44 megabyte floppy disk, into the drive. In reaching its Feb. 11 decision, that the XHD disk was not compatible with notebook Zip drives, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California found Iomega's argument about the inclusion of the light baffle to protect Zip drives to be compelling.

There is an increased risk that users will attempt to insert floppy disks or other inappropriate disks into a notebook Zip drive since the same bay is used, interchangeably in many notebook computers, for floppy drives and Zip drives. The invention of the light baffle predates any knowledge on the part of Iomega concerning the XHD reflector. In fact, Iomega filed a U.S. patent application on the invention prior to ever learning about Nomai's intent to use a concave reflector.

"Any claim that our light baffle design was implemented to prevent competition is simply untrue," said Keating. "The design of the light baffle into Zip notebook drives was found to be necessary for proper discrimination in the slimmer profile drives to prevent possible danger caused by inserting foreign objects into the drive."

Iomega Corp. manufactures personal read/write storage solutions that help people manage their stuff -- anywhere. Iomega's products provide consumers with what they want, when they want it, at a reasonable price. The company's industry storage solutions, designed for all types of computer users, include Zip drives and genuine Zip 100 disks; Jaz one- and two-gigabyte drives and disks; and Ditto tape backup drives and tape cartridges.

Whether used in homes, business, government or education, or by creative professionals, all Iomega storage solutions ensure high levels of quality and reliability when using authorized Iomega media products. Iomega products are available through computer retail stores, resellers, major distributors and OEMs. The company can be reached at 800/MY-STUFF (800/697-8833), http://www.iomega.com and additional Iomega press releases can be accessed through the toll-free fax-back line: (888/88-IOMEGA). -0-

NOTE TO EDITORS: Iomega, Zip, Jaz, and the stylized "i" logo are registered trademarks of, and Ditto, Buz, Zip Built-In and Clik! are trademarks of, Iomega Corp. All other product and brand names are the property of their respective owners. For maximum reliability, use only genuine Zip 100 disks featuring the genuine Zip 100 symbol in your Zip drive.

CONTACT: Iomega Corp., Roy

Susan Stillings, 801/778-3585

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Tyler Thatcher, 801/778-4362

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