A rchive Date
[ 13-06-2000 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ U.S ]
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[2000Microsoft Verdict
Microsoft sees higher court antitrust ruling
Conclusions of Law and Final Order (4/3/00)
Tuesday, June 13, 2000
TAIPEI, June 13 (Reuters) - Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said on Tuesday the software giant's antitrust case would be decided by a higher court even as the company bickered with the U.S. Justice Department over the timing of its appeal.
"Our position on this is very simple. This is a case that will be decided by a higher level of court," Gates told a news conference on the sidelines of a technology conference in Taipei.
Last week, district court judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ruled that Microsoft should split into two firms -- a ruling that would not take effect until the appeals process ended -- but also placed restrictions on the software firm's business practices to take effect in 90 days.
Microsoft asked for a stay of the entire order until it exhausted the appeals process, but has not filed a notice of appeal. On Monday, the Justice Department and states suing Microsoft accused it of trying to slow the process by which the case would go directly to the Supreme Court.
The government has said it would like to go directly to the highest court in the United States under a mechanism available in major antitrust cases, although the high court could decline.
Microsoft has said it would prefer the normal route, taking the case first to the U.S. Court of Appeals. In 1998, the Appeals Court overturned a Jackson ruling favouring the government in a dispute over an earlier Microsoft agreement with the government over its business practices.
"The principles that apply in terms of 'was Microsoft's behaviour pro-competitive in every respect?', that's already been stated by the court," Gates said on Tuesday.
"In fact the district court chose to ignore all of that precedent. Fairly unusual," he said. "The right of appeal is a very standard right within the United States and all these cases of this type are always decided at the level of a higher court."
Gates said he expected a higher court ruling in about one year and added that the company would not change the way it does business before then. It was not clear if he was referring to compliance with Jackson's restrictions over business practices.
"It's hard to say exactly -- probably on the order of 12 months before the decision comes down. Between now and then it doesn't change anything we're doing as a company," he said.
The Justice Department took Microsoft to court accusing it of abusing its monopoly in operating systems to undermine competition on the applications side. Jackson found that Microsoft's use of its monopoly was indeed illegal and ruled last week that the company be split into an operating systems company and an applications company.
During the trial, Microsoft had come under fire for bundling its Explorer Internet browser with the Windows operating system, edging out competitors such as Netscape. On Tuesday, Gates said a combined browser and operating system was a key demand from customers.
"What's been challenged is the fact that we supported the Internet with Windows. For anyone who uses this technology, the idea that that could be challenged, you gotta say, is pretty amazing," he said.
"Every operating system needs to support the Internet. There's nothing more obvious that customers are asking for."
The Outcome
Microsoft to appeal antitrust verdict
U.S. vs. Microsoft: Chronology]
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