I think we might have a negative impact from this
uesday November 17 7:54 PM ET
Judge Rules Against Microsoft In Sun Java Lawsuit
By Martin Wolk
SEATTLE (Reuters) - In a stinging defeat for Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news), a federal judge Tuesday backed
technology claims by Sun Microsystems Inc. (Nasdaq:SUNW - news) and gave the software company 90 days to modify
its Windows 98 operating system or pull it from the market.
U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte said Sun was ''likely to prevail on the merits'' of its lawsuit over the Java programming
language and issued a preliminary injunction that would bar Microsoft from selling products that use the technology.
Whyte's order bars the sale of any Microsoft products that use Java -- including Windows 98 and the Internet Explorer
4.0 browser -- beginning in 90 days unless Microsoft modifies the software to comply with Sun compatibility tests. The
order does not affect software that already has been shipped.
For Sun, one of Microsoft's fiercest rivals, the ruling was a sweet victory in the battle over control of Java, an
increasingly popular platform for software developers that once was seen as a threat to the hegemony of Windows on
the computer desktop.
While the highly technical lawsuit has taken a backseat to the landmark antitrust case against Microsoft unfolding in
Washington, D.C., the ruling could reinvigorate Sun's efforts to promote Java for developers to write software that runs
on a variety of systems and not just Windows.
And government lawyers, who have called a Sun vice president to testify in the antitrust case, contend Microsoft's
efforts to undermine Java are part of a pattern of anti-competitive behavior.
Alan Baratz, president of Sun's Java Software unit, said the company would continue to deliver products ''that give
developers and users the choice to replace Microsoft's polluted technology with Sun's compatible Java technology.''
Sun sued Microsoft in 1997 charging that the Redmond, Wash.-based software company violated its 1996 agreement to
license Java by introducing variants in its own software and developer tools that failed to meet Sun's compatibility tests.
Sun contended Microsoft was intentionally trying to undermine Java's vaunted ''write once, run anywhere'' promise by
establishing conflicting versions of the language and forcing developers to make a choice.
In a cry that echoed its defense against antitrust charges, Microsoft contended Sun was trying to prevent ''innovation''
and said even Sun's own implementation of the technology failed to meet compatibility requirements.
Microsoft spokesman Jim Cullinan said the company was disappointed by the ruling but would ''take the necessary
steps to comply.''
''We believe Sun's legal strategy is shortsighted and is trying to deny customers and developers the choice of the best
Java implementation in the marketplace,'' Cullinan said.
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