Borland International Inc’s representative to the Czech and Slovak Republics, Laurent Lathieyre, confirmed his company did intend to set up a subsidiary or joint venture in Prague by the end of the year. The company has been forced to withdraw Quattro 4.0 from the market just 10 days after announcing its local availability, according to Lathieyre, because of the legal dispute in the US with Lotus Development Corp. Though any operation in the Czech Republic is likely to have a Borland identity, Lathieyre said the company was considering establishing its presence through a joint venture with its current de facto master distributor APRO sro. Borland’s distributor in the Poland, MSP, however, warned the company was still suffering from a reputation for supplying low-cost products after it initiated a Love Borland campaign in the region in 1991. Under the scheme, which Lathieyre described as highly successfuly, users of illegally copied Borland software were offered the opportunity to buy a full legal version for the price of an upgrade. The promotion was to have been called Amnesty – its internal Borland code-name – according to MSP co-founder Marek Goschorski, but the name was deemed inappropriate at the time, due to on-going Gulf War.
