Tuesday January 25, 6:37 pm Eastern Time
Judge reinstates order against Microsoft Java products
SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan 25 (Reuters) - In the latest chapter in the legal battle between two rival software titans, a federal judge on Tuesday reinstated an order forcing Microsoft Corp. (NasdaqNM:MSFT - news) to change software based on the Java programming language created by Sun Microsystems Inc. (NasdaqNM:SUNW - news).
Judge Ronald Whyte in U.S. District Court here reinstated on different grounds a November 1998, injunction that was overturned by an appeals court last August.
The injunction stemmed from a suit Sun filed in 1997 charging Microsoft with violating a licensing agreement for its Java language by changing it in software and developer tools that failed to meet Sun's compatibility tests.
Sun's Java language was developed to allow programs to run across a variety of operating systems under its ``write once, run anywhere' slogan.
Sun says Microsoft's ``polluted' versions of Java were aimed at undermining the language, an increasingly popular tool for writing Web-based applications that can run on different platforms and could therefore challenge the dominance of Microsoft's Windows operating system.
In August, an appeals court overturned Whyte's earlier injunction, saying the case appeared to be a simple contract dispute rather than an instance of possible copyright infringement, as Sun has contested.
Both companies claimed victory in Tuesday's ruling, with Microsoft saying it undermined Sun's claims of copyright infringement and would not force further changes.
``This reflects the status quo and Microsoft is already in compliance with the order,' Microsoft spokesman Jim Cullinan said in a statement.
``This strikes fundamentally at the heart of Sun's position in this case and supports Microsoft's oft-stated position that this is a contract dispute between two large and sophisticated companies,' Cullinan said.
The order did not require Microsoft to recall any product or prevent the use of products already sold, he said.
``Today's ruling changes nothing for Microsoft and our customers in terms of using our technology and great products. We will continue to comply with the terms of the preliminary injunction while we review our legal options,' he said.
Sun, long an outspoken critic of the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant in its antitrust case with the U.S. Justice Department, said the ruling supported its claims that Microsoft engaged in unfair business practices.
``We are gratified that Judge Whyte reinstated the preliminary injunctive relief needed to redress this injury to competition, and that he did so after finding that Microsoft's business practices had been unfair,' Sun attorney Michael Morris said in a statement.
``As we have said from the start of this case, Microsoft's misconduct with respect to Sun's Java technology has harmed competition, as well as those who use and rely on the Java technology,' Morris said.
Shares in Microsoft rose 2-5/8 to 103-7/8 while Sun rose 2-1/2 to 81-5/8 in trading on the Nasdaq on Tuesday. |
