McAfee Suit Accuses Symantec of Defamation

McAfee Associates Inc. sued rival software company Symantec Corp., alleging defamation and seeking $1 billion in damages. The action, which escalates a closely watched trade-secret battle between the two top suppliers of anti-virus software, is the latest volley involving two batches of software code that appear in two McAfee products, PC Medic 1997 and VirusScan. Cupertino, Calif.-based Symantec sued Santa Clara, Calif.-based McAfee in April, accusing McAfee of stealing those codes; Symantec expanded the lawsuit in July, alleging McAfee had stolen more codes. McAfee denied the allegations. McAfee shares fell $4.25 to close at $55; Symantec shares rose $1.19 to close at $25.50. Both trade on Nasdaq.