To: Daniel Schuh who wrote (11334 ) 10/15/1998 1:54:00 PM From: Daniel Schuh Respond to
Trial run (alternate title, "Microsoft in the dock") economist.com To keep the trial short—about six weeks is the best bet—both sides are being limited to 12 witnesses, although they will be able to call on copious written evidence. There are odd omissions. Other than Microsoft's arch-enemy, IBM, the government is not calling any computer makers. According to an official close to the case, “because of the subtle power Microsoft has over them, they are just scared out of their wits.” Microsoft will not be putting Mr Gates in the stand. Lawyers for the DoJ say that his deposition was a potentially lethal mixture of belligerence and “failure of recollection”. Microsoft retorts that he simply was not present at many meetings. Yet the case against Microsoft remains compelling. The government will describe in detail a pattern of “predatory and exclusionary” practices illegally carried out over many years, often aimed at intimidating partners as much as competitors. At the very least, Microsoft's belief that other firms do the things it is accused of demonstrates a refusal to concede that, under antitrust law, monopolists should be whiter than white.
