AOL Barred From Filing Separate Brief in Microsoft Dispute
By Greg Stohr
Washington, Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Siding with Microsoft Corp., an appeals court told America Online Inc. it must join forces with three trade groups if it wants to file a brief in the government antitrust case against the world's largest software maker.
In a two-page order that included no explanation, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said AOL and the three groups, all of which support a trial judge's breakup order of Microsoft, must combine their thoughts into a single 25-page brief.
The ruling is a procedural win for Microsoft, which had contended that AOL, one of its most bitter rivals, would offer only a ``partisan repetition of evidence.''
Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft declined to comment on the D.C. Circuit's order. A spokesman for Dulles, Virginia-based AOL could not be reached for comment.
The Justice Department and 19 states are scheduled to square off in oral arguments against Microsoft on Feb. 27 and 28 in Washington.
The D.C. Circuit said it will permit a total of six friend-of- the-court briefs, including two from groups that largely support Microsoft's position.
Three individuals also got permission to file papers. One of those, University of Utah computer science professor Lee A. Hollaar, ``has made something of a career of testifying against Microsoft,'' according to a Microsoft court filing.
Judges routinely accept friend-of-the-court filings, known to lawyers as ``amicus briefs,'' to gain the perspectives of outside groups with an interest in a case.
Backed by Critics
Microsoft is seeking to overturn an order by U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson that would split Microsoft's Windows operating system business from the rest of the company. Jackson ordered the breakup after concluding Microsoft illegally defended its operating system monopoly from competition.
AOL will have to file its brief with the Software & Information Industry Association, the Computer & Communications Industry Association and the Project to Promote Competition & Innovation in the Digital Age.
Those groups are backed by Microsoft critics, including AOL, Sun Microsystems Inc. and Oracle Corp. The industry groups had accused Microsoft of trying to muffle opponents by limiting participation.
Microsoft and its allies will make the first substantive filings in the case by Nov. 27.
The Microsoft-sponsored Association for Competitive Technology and the Computing Technology Industry Association will file one brief. The Association for Objective Law and the Center for the Moral Defense of Capitalism will file the other.
The government and its allies must file their briefs by Jan. 12. |
