Looks like this is as positive as we are going to see from Jackson,,
WASHINGTON, Feb 22, 2000 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- The judge in the
Microsoft antitrust trial undercut an important legal defense in final
arguments Tuesday before his decision.
Without a settlement, which now appears unlikely, that ruling could
come in a few weeks and is destined to affect the way the technology
industry does business.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson brushed aside Microsoft's
claim that its federal copyrights allow wide discretion in the way the
company designs and distributes software.
'Copyright does not protect the conduct with which your client is
charged,' Jackson told Microsoft lawyer John Warden.
Warden told the judge his decision 'will shape the rules of
competition throughout the entire software industry.' How Jackson
applies the law, Warden said, will be 'important to the economy as we
move into the 21st century.'
'The laws should not be rewritten so that Microsoft or any other
company is reluctant to compete as hard as it can,' Warden said.
Outside court, Microsoft's top lawyer said he did not believe Jackson
was skeptical of the copyright defense.
The judge's repeated questioning indicated he was 'genuinely curious
to understand it better,' William Neukom said.
At issue is Microsoft's decision in 1995 to bundle its Internet browser
software into its flagship Windows operating system, which runs most of
the world's personal computers.
The government alleges Microsoft illegally 'tied' separate products
to crush consumer demand for rival browsing software from the former
Netscape Communications Corp.
Microsoft's copyright defense was critical. It potentially protected
the company's demands that computer makers that sell Windows on their
machines also include Microsoft's own Internet software, regardless of
consumer preference.
Last year, Jackson found that Microsoft was an abusive monopoly and he
generally accepted all the government's allegations. But, partly to
encourage settlement talks, he delayed the final phase of his decision,
when he is expected to identify which specific antitrust laws Microsoft
violated.
Secret settlement talks with a federal mediator continue in Chicago,
though sources indicate little progress.
Jackson did not delay Tuesday's arguments, though he previously said
that if the mediator 'seems to think that more time is needed, that
certainly is something I would be willing to consider, too.'
During the hearing, Justice Department lawyer David Boies cited dozens
of excerpts from Jackson's ruling last year, arguing Microsoft spent
hundreds of millions of dollars to develop its Internet software then
gave it away free.
Boies also accused Microsoft of using its power to 'induce, threaten,
bribe and coerce' other companies from distributing rival software
that it ultimately feared could threaten the dominance of Windows,
which has earned the company billions of dollars. |
