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Technology Stocks : How high will Microsoft fly? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John F. Dowd who wrote (28052)	8/10/1999 12:32:00 PM
From: Teflon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

Another article on the Trial: Microsoft, government filing fresh documents By William L. Watts, CBS MarketWatch Last Update: 12:13 PM ET Aug 10, 1999 Also: NewsWatch WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- Government and Microsoft attorneys are set to file more than 1,000 pages of documents with U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson Tuesday as the landmark antitrust case enters its next phase. The documents, describing each side's proposed findings of fact in the case, are likely to make for slow reading even though the gist of their content is well known. Jackson has said he'll rule separately on what was proved during the eight months of testimony and what penalties, if any, should be imposed. The plan is widely seen as an attempt to get Microsoft and government attorneys to settle the case before a final ruling. Antitrust experts expect the government's latest filing to reiterate a broad range of charges against the software giant. The Justice Department and the 19 states that have joined in the suit against Microsoft (MSFT: news, msgs) will argue they proved the company used its monopoly to sideline rival Internet browser makers such as Netscape, said Glenn Manishin, a former Justice Department attorney who is now in private practice in Washington. The government contends Netscape, now part of America Online (AOL: news, msgs), saw its dominant market share of the browser market sharply eroded after Microsoft illegally bundled its own Internet browser into the Windows operating system. In addition, the government is likely to claim it proved that Microsoft used Windows to undermine other competing software makers, such as IBM's Lotus unit, and Sun Microsystems' (SUNW: news, msgs) Java software language Manishin said. Microsoft, for its part, has indicated its filings will focus on what it considers the government's failure to prove that the company's actions hurt consumers. Microsoft has maintained that it doesn't enjoy a monopoly in the operating systems market. The company's filings are likely to emphasize its argument that the government has improperly focused on a few manufacturers of computer operating-system software to illustrate Microsoft's dominance. Microsoft claims it doesn't charge prices as high as a monopolist would. In addition, its massive spending on research an development of new software makes no sense, the company argues, if Microsoft has durable monopoly power. See related story. No road map Antitrust experts say the filings won't make for light reading. Proposed findings of fact will center on what each side believes was proved, or not proved, during the testimony phase. The documents "won't connect the dots" in the case as a closing argument or appellate brief would attempt to do, Manishin said. On Sept. 10, each side will file responses to Tuesday's documents. Closing arguments are slated for Sept. 21. Although a ruling isn't likely until late this year or early 2000, Jackson has won kudos from legal experts for keeping the complex trial to a tight schedule. In an unusual panel appearance in Atlanta Monday with lawyers involved in the Microsoft case, Jackson told an American Bar Association seminar he had deliberately sought to ensure that the Microsoft trial didn't resemble the "Vietnam morasses" of other long-running antitrust trials. He did not discuss the merits of the Microsoft case. But he said that in planning for the trial, he looked at the handling of the government's long-running antitrust case against IBM (IBM: news, msgs), which was dismissed after many years, as well as the federal lawsuit that led to the 1984 breakup of AT&T (T: news, msgs). Meanwhile, the long-running trial has failed to give Wall Street pause. Shares of Microsoft have trended solidly higher since before the start of the trial last fall. Microsoft shares fell 13/16 to 83 in recent trading. That's well above the 52-week low of 43 7/8 set last October, but off from the 52-week high of 100 3/4 set just last month. Teflon