Microsoft and non-settling states sum up four years in court

Posted on 11 Jun 2002 at 17:46

Microsoft and the nine non-settling states have filed 500+ page documents that spell out their respective cases and proposed solutions at the end of two months of witness testimonies - bringing the four-year-old antitrust case to the final stages of its run.

The documents will be considered by US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who will hear the closing arguments of both sides on 19 June and will then open her own remedy based on these and the findings of last year's appeals court ruling. The judge's final ruling is expected towards the end of the summer.

Microsoft's 'proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law' seeks to show nine non-settling states have no legal standing on which to impose harsh penalties, that third parties should play no part in determining the decrees of a remedy and that the period and nature of the remedy proposed by the non-settling states is unworkable.

Microsoft spokesman Jim Dessler said in a statement that the filing 'provides evidence that supports our main arguments: that the states' remedy is unworkable, would cause great harm to the PC ecosystem, would hurt consumers and is hopelessly vague and ambiguous.'

The document also argues that the proposed remedy would mean court scrutiny of nearly every aspect of Microsoft's business on a daily basis, which, Microsoft argues 'is precisely what antitrust remedies are not supposed to do'. It advises the Court to settle for the remedy agreed by itself and nine states last November, but not to award the non-settling states the powers to enforce the remedy that the nine other states have. However, Judge Kollar-Kotelly has still not yet approved that deal.

The filing by the non-settling states asserts this is the problem with the findings of Microsoft's remedy: 'which ostensibly address the the acts found anti-competitive by the Court of Appeals [and] are plagued with exceptions and ambiguities.' It argues that Microsoft's remedy would do nothing to prevent the company engaging in anti-competitive practices in future.

Among the provisions set out by the remedy proposed by the non-settling states, led by Iowa and California, one would see Microsoft offering a modular version of Windows to which OEMs could add on third-party 'middleware', such as browsers, media players and the like. Microsoft asserts that this software is too integral to the XP system to be removed, although last week it published an XP service pack for beta-testing that would allow OEMs to hide Microsoft applications, and add others of their choice.

Author: Matt Whipp