Judge sets quick Microsoft court date
03:25 p.m May 22, 1998 Eastern
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal judge Friday set a Sept. 8 trial date for the
government's antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft Corp., much sooner than the
world's dominant maker of personal computer software had hoped.
But U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson granted Microsoft's motion to
have the state and federal lawsuits combined.
''By the time that you propose (for a hearing), there will be 16 to 18 million horses
out of the barn, and that's too late,'' Jackson said, referring to the upcoming release
of Windows 98, the newest version of Microsoft's widely used computer operating
system.
During the hearing, Microsoft raised the stakes by announcing it had accelerated
the previously announced June 25 launch for Windows 98.
Microsoft lawyer John Warden said computer makers will begin selling machines
with the new version next week, and the software will be sold to the public starting
June 15.
Government and state lawyers were jubilant over the early trial date. ''This date
can provide a victory for consumers a lot quicker than anybody contemplated,''
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal told reporters on the courthouse
steps after the hearing.
The department and states filed their lawsuits against Microsoft on Monday,
seeking more freedom for computer makers to alter Windows 98 before reselling it
to consumers.
Microsoft had asked to be allowed until December to make its case against the
government request for a temporary ruling against the software company. But the
judge did not agree.
''To wait until November or December or January is not preliminary relief at all,''
Jackson said. Trial was set for Sept. 8.
The lawsuits accused Microsoft of using Windows, the operating system on 90
percent of personal computers worldwide, to try to seize control of the software
market for browsers to access the Internet. Microsoft denies the charges.
The federal government and states had asked Jackson to issue a preliminary ruling
to stop Microsoft from requiring computer makers to include Microsoft's Internet
Explorer browser in the latest version of Windows.
Microsoft said it needed the extra time to conduct interviews with potential
witnesses to counter material that the Justice Department and the states had been
gathering.
The Justice Department opposed Microsoft's timetable, saying the Redmond,
Wash.-based company wanted too much time when computer software has a shelf
life measured in months.
''If they get their way, they'll be selling Windows 99 while we're still litigating over
Windows 98,'' a department official told Reuters on Thursday.
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