<PAGE>
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
JANUARY 22, 1998
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported)
NETSCAPE COMMUNICTIONS CORPORATION
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
DELAWARE 0-26310 94-3200270
State or other Commission File Number) (I.R.S. Employer
jurisdiction of incorporation) Identification No.)
501 EAST MIDDLEFIELD ROAD
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA 94043
(Address of principal executive offices)
(650) 254-1900
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)
N/A
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report) <PAGE>
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ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS.
The information set forth in the Registrant's Press Release dated January
22, 1998 is incorporated herein by reference. A more thorough discussion of
factors affecting the Company's business plans and competitive environment is
included in the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
ended December 31, 1996, and in its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the
quarters ended March 31, 1997, June 30, 1997 and September 30, 1997.
ITEM 7. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS.
(C) EXHIBITS
Exhibit No. Description
99.1 Text of Press Release dated January 22, 1998
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SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
NETSCAPE COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION
Date: January 22, 1998 By: /s/ Peter L.S. Currie
Peter L.S. Currie
Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative
Officer
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INDEX TO EXHIBITS FILED WITH
THE CURRENT REPORT ON FORM 8-K DATED JANUARY 22, 1998
Exhibit Description
99.1 Text of Press Release dated January 22, 1998
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EXHIBIT 99.1
NETSCAPE ANNOUNCES PLANS TO MAKE NEXT-GENERATION COMMUNICATOR SOURCE CODE
AVAILABLE FREE ON THE NET
BOLD MOVE TO HARNESS CREATIVE POWER OF THOUSANDS OF INTERNET DEVELOPERS; COMPANY
MAKES NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR AND COMMUNICATOR 4.0 IMMEDIATELY FREE FOR ALL USERS,
SEEDING MARKET FOR ENTERPRISE AND NETCENTER BUSINESSES
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (January 22, 1998) -- Netscape Communications Corporation
(NASDAQ:NSCP) today announced bold plans to make the source code for the next
generation of its highly popular Netscape Communicator client software available
for free licensing on the Internet. The company plans to post the source code
beginning with the first Netscape Communicator 5.0 developer release, expected
by the end of the first quarter of 1998. This aggressive move will enable
Netscape to harness the creative power of thousands of programmers on the
Internet by incorporating their best enhancements into future versions of
Netscape's software. This strategy is designed to accelerate development and
free distribution by Netscape of future high-quality versions of Netscape
Communicator to business customers and individuals, further seeding the
market for Netscape's enterprise solutions and Netcenter business.
In addition, the company is making its currently available Netscape Navigator
and Communicator Standard Edition 4.0 software products immediately free for
all users. With this action, Netscape makes it easier than ever for
individuals at home, at school or at work to choose the world's most popular
Internet client software as their preferred interface to the Internet.
'The time is right for us to take the bold action of making our client free -
and we are going even further by committing to post the source code for free
for Communicator 5.0,' said Jim Barksdale, Netscape's president and chief
executive officer. 'By giving away the source code
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for future versions, we can ignite the creative energies of the entire Net
community and fuel unprecedented levels of innovation in the browser market.
Our customers can benefit from world-class technology advancements; the
development community gains access to a whole new market opportunity; and
Netscape's core businesses benefit from the proliferation of the market-
leading client software.'
Netscape plans to make Netscape Communicator 5.0 source code available for
modification and redistribution beginning later this quarter with the first
developer release of the product. The company will handle free source
distribution with a license that allows source code modification and
redistribution and provides for free availability of source code versions,
building on the heritage of the GNU Public License (GPL), familiar to
developers on the Net. Netscape intends to create a special Web site service
where all interested parties can download the source code, post their
enhancements, take part in newsgroup discussions, and obtain and share
Communicator related information with others in the Internet community.
Netscape will also continue to develop new technologies and offer periodic
certified, high-quality, supported releases of its Netscape Communicator and
Navigator products, incorporating some of the best features created by this
dynamic community.
The ubiquity of Netscape's client software facilitates Netscape's strategy of
linking millions of individuals to businesses. Today's announcements will help
to further proliferate Netscape's award-winning client software, which today
has an installed base of more than 68 million, providing a ready market for
businesses using Netscape's Networked Enterprise software solutions and
Netscape Netcenter services. Netscape's research indicates that in the
education market where Netscape's products are free, the Netscape client
software commands approximately 90 percent of the market, indicating that
users tend to choose Netscape when the choice is freely available. Making
its browser software free also will enable Netscape to continue to drive
Internet standards, maximize the number of users on the Internet, and expand
the third-party community of companies and products that take advantage of
the Netscape software platform.
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Netscape has successfully shifted its business over the past year toward
enterprise software sales and to revenues from its Web site business, and
way from standalone client revenues. In the third quarter of 1997,
standalone client revenues represented approximately 18 percent of Netscape's
revenue, with the rest coming from enterprise software, services and the Web
site. Preliminary results for the fourth quarter of 1997, which Netscape
announced January 5, show standalone client revenues decreased to
approximately 13 percent in the fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter of
1996 by comparison, standalone client revenue represented approximately 45
percent of Netscape's revenue.
In conjunction with its free client, Netscape separately announced today that
it is launching a host of enhanced products and services that leverage its
free client software to make it easy for enterprise and individual customers
to adopt Netscape solutions. The new products and services reinforce
Netscape's strategy of leveraging market penetration of its popular client
software and its busy Internet site to seed further sales of Netscape
software solutions in the home and business markets. The new products and
services include enhanced subscription and support packages, an investment
protection program for Netscape Communicator users, new reduced pricing on
Netscape's retail and enterprise client products, new Premium Services on its
Netscape Netcenter online service and Netscape SuiteSpot server software
upgrades featuring Netscape client software.
In addition, the company separately announced the launch of an aggressive new
software distribution program called 'Unlimited Distribution' to broadly
distribute its market-leading Internet client software for free. Unlimited
Distribution enables Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), Internet
Service Providers (ISPs), telecommunications companies, Web content
providers, publishers and software developers to download and redistribute
Netscape Communicator and Netscape Navigator easily with 'no strings
attached.' In addition, beginning immediately, individual users can download
Netscape Communicator or Navigator for free, register for Netscape Netcenter and
at the same time enter the `Choose Netscape' sweepstakes to win
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exciting travel-related prizes, including a grand prize of two all-inclusive,
seven-night tropical resort vacations.
Individuals can download a free copy of Netscape Communicator client software
or the Netscape Navigator browser from the Netscape home page at
http://home.netscape.com, or by clicking on any of the thousands of 'Netscape
Now' buttons on the Internet. Netscape Communicator Professional Edition,
which adds features for enterprise customers, will be available for US$29.
Netscape Communications Corporation is a premier provider of open software for
linking people and information over enterprise networks and the Internet. The
company offers a full line of Netscape Navigator clients, servers, development
tools and commercial applications to create a complete platform for next-
generation, live online applications. Traded on NASDAQ under the symbol 'NSCP,'
Netscape Communications Corporation is based in Mountain View, California.<PAGE>
