Verity and Netscape Team up to Bring Topic Agent Technology to the Internet; Netscape to Provide Popular Topic Search Engine for Netscape Servers.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 9, 1995--Two leading providers of products for the Internet, Verity, Inc., and Netscape Communications Corporation, today announced that the two companies are teaming up to bring Topic agent technology to the Internet. Netscape will be able to embed Verity's Topic Search Engine in its Netscape servers and will also resell Verity's Topic Agent Server technology.

Verity's Topic search engine is the embedded engine of choice for hundreds of application developers and is used in many well-known software products including Adobe Acrobat and Lotus Notes.

Verity's new technology brings agents and topic query objects to the Internet. Topic Agents allow users and on-line providers to filter incoming information against interest profiles and send automatic alerts via personal HTML pages, electronic mail or fax. Topic objects also allow information to be automatically categorized and browsed by subject area. With this new metaphor, information providers now also have the tools to capture editorial expertise in topic objects and make them available to their subscribers.

"Making it easy for users to find and access the information they want is key to the Internet's success as a mainstream communications channel," said Jim Barksdale, president and CEO of Netscape. "Verity's Topic search engine and state-of-the-art topic agent technology combined with our Netscape servers will make locating, filtering, and accessing information fast and simple. Verity's tight integration with Adobe Acrobat also complements our support of Adobe's Portable Document Format in our Netscape Navigator and Netscape server products."

"Netscape and Verity share similar visions of ubiquity, deployability, cost effectiveness, ease-of-use and a belief in the web metaphor and Adobe's PDF format," said Philippe Courtot, chairman and CEO of Verity, Inc. "Netscape is becoming synonymous with the Web and we are extremely delighted to be working with them."

Knight-Ridder's NewsHound service is one example where technologies from both Verity and Netscape are already in use together. Knight-Ridder was an early adopter of the topic agent technology which is at the core of its NewsHound service. Netscape servers were selected to provide access to the Internet subscriber base.

The Netscape Internet Applications(TM) family is a line of turnkey software applications that enables companies to conduct full-scale electronic commerce on the Internet. Netscape Internet Applications incorporate Netscape Commerce Server(TM), which includes the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) open protocol to enable secure commerce to be conducted over global networks.

Netscape Communications Corporation is a premier provider of open software to enable people and companies to exchange information and conduct commerce over the Internet and other global networks. The company was founded in April 1994 by Dr. James H. Clark, founder of Silicon Graphics, Inc., a Fortune 500 computer systems company; and Marc Andreessen, creator of the NCSA Mosaic(TM) research prototype for the Internet. Privately held, Netscape Communications Corporation is based in Mountain View, California.

Verity, Inc., headquartered in Mountain View, California develops and markets the Topic family of information retrieval tools and applications for publishing and disseminating information across the enterprise, the Internet and CD-ROM. The company's products and services are used by more than 650 corporations and organizations worldwide as well as by hundreds of development partners. Verity's Topic search engine is the engine of choice for Adobe Systems, Lotus Development Corp., Frame Technology Corp., Saros Corp., PC Docs, Odesta Systems Corp., Documentum, Inc. and many other software developers. -0-

Note to Editors: For more information, contact Verity at [e-mail] or by calling 415/960-7600 or at the World Wide Web site http://www/verity.com/. Verity and TOPIC are registered trademarks of Verity, Inc in the United States and other countries. Verity, Inc. is not related to the International Stock Exchange of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland Limited, which provide computerized information services under the mark Topic. Netscape Communications, Netscape, Netscape Internet Applications, Netscape Commerce Server and Netscape Navigator are trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation. NCSA Mosaic is a trademark of the University of Illinois. All other product names are trademarks of their respective companies.

CONTACT: Verity, Inc.

Sue Barsamian, 415/960-7600

or

Netscape Communications Corporation

Roseanne Siino, 415/528-2619

or

Fineline Communications

Mary Carlisle, 408/867-9070