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To: FDHIII who wrote (6564)	10/19/1998 12:48:00 PM
From: Logistics	Respond to of 119973

NSCP looking sweet. Gates already caught in a lie: Monday October 19 12:28 PM EDT Gates' Testimony Questioned In Microsoft Trial By David Lawsky WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The government opened its landmark antitrust trial against Microsoft Corp. (MSFT - news) Monday by calling into question Chairman Bill Gates' pre-trial testimony on whether the software giant had made overtures to Netscape Communication Corp. Justice Department attorney David Boies played excerpts of Gates' Aug. 27 videotaped deposition in court and contrasted the billionaire's statements with internal memos sent in 1995 by Gates about Netscape, then a fledgling Internet browser maker. In the videotape, Gates says he did not know of Netscape's plans and was not involved in preparation for a June 21, 1995, meeting between Microsoft and Netscape that is likely to be pivotal in the antitrust trial. Netscape has said Microsoft asked at that meeting to cooperate and agree not to compete in certain markets. Asked in the deposition whether he was involved in preparation for the June, 1995 meeting Gates said: ''At this time I had no sense of what Netscape was doing.'' But Boies asked the court to look at a May 1995 memo from Gates which said: ''A new competitor born on the Internet is Netscape.'' Another memo that month from Gates said: ''I think there is a very powerful deal of some kind we can do with Netscape.'' The trial is rated by antitrust experts as one of the most important in recent times -- comparable to the U.S. government suit against telephone titan AT&T Corp. (T - news) in 1974. The U.S. Justice Department and the states filed suit in May charging Microsoft had used its dominance in personal computer operating systems to stamp out competitors and capture other software business. Monopolies are legal if acquired through offering better products or services but U.S. law forbids the use of monopoly power to maintain market share or gain monopolies in other business areas. The government says Microsoft's behavior diminishes consumer choice and ultimately makes software more expensive. Microsoft counters that the suit is unwarranted interference in its business that will hamper its efforts to provide the best possible products to consumers. In opening statements, the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant is expected to repeat its position that it has always behaved legally while competing vigorously. ''The relevant evidence, the admissible evidence, will show that Microsoft is a vigorous but a very fair competitor,'' Microsoft general counsel William Neukom told reporters outside the court District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson presided over the case which is expected to last 6-8 weeks. Each side is limited to 12 witnesses plus two rebuttal witnesses at the trial's end. To speed the process, witnesses will only be examined on statements made prior to the trial. The first witness is not expected on the stand until Tuesday and it is likely to be Netscape Communications Corp (NSCP - news) President and Chairman James Barksdale. In a key aspect of the government's case, Microsoft is accused of making extraordinary and illegal efforts to push the Internet browser maker out of the market because Netscape Navigator software threatened its own software plans. Microsoft has said it has internal communications that show it initiated plans to become a major browser player and integrate its Internet Explorer program with its Windows operating software before it had even heard of Netscape. But the Wall Street Journal reported Monday that America Online Inc. ( AOL - news) had provided evidence to the government that supports Netscape's version of what happened at a June 21, 1995 meeting between Netscape and Microsoft that is expected to be a major feature of the case. A Netscape engineer told an AOL executive that Microsoft ''would crush them'' if Netscape did not cooperate with Microsoft in providing a board seat and make available its plans. Microsoft has repeatedly denied Netscape's version of events. The government will also call on witnesses from Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW - news), Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL - news) and Intel Corp. (INTC - news ) in an attempt to demonstrate a pattern of behavior by Microsoft. The bulk of Microsoft's witnesses are from within the company although it is expected to put a Compaq Computer Corp. (CPQ - news) CPQ.N executive on the stand, the president of a software partner company and Richard Schmalansee, interim dean of the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The government has said if it wins its bid for a preliminary injunction for remedies in the Internet browser market it will seek ''additional permanent relief as is necessary to restore competitive conditions.'' Some have speculated that could mean a telephone company style breakup of Microsoft like the one imposed on AT&T. In any event, most people expect the case will ultimately be appealed to the Supreme Court for a final decision. Earlier Stories •Microsoft Antitrust Trial Begins (October 19) •U.S. Government Vs. Microsoft Trial Starts Monday (October 19) •Government Seeks New Order On Microsoft Evidence (October 18) •Microsoft Trial Revives Prospect Of Forced Breakup (October 16) •Klein: No Settlement Talks Now With Microsoft