Antivirus company Network Associates, currently at the centre of a US court battle, has been slammed by industry peers for its "draconian" measures and censorship.

The software vendor is in court after it tried to use the small print in its software licences to stop a US computer magazine printing a damning review of its product.

In its defence, Network Associates said it was concerned that journalists would review outdated versions of the software, or conduct inaccurate benchmark tests.

But the action has been a press relations own goal, and rival antivirus companies are having a field day at Network Associates' expense.

Graham Cluely, senior technology consultant at Sophos, rushed to point out that reviewers could say what they liked about its products, and Symantec's UK spokesman Richard Saunders said that his company was completely opposed to restricting editorial reviews.

Trend Micro explained that it would prefer to recommend that a journalist followed certain procedures, rather than enforce a review procedure.

"It is in our interest to help journalists through the process," said a Trend Micro spokesman. "We do have language on our site that requires journalists to get our approval to do product reviews."