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Judge approves Microsoft antitrust settlement
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An antitrust settlement hammered out last year between Microsoft Corp., the Justice Department and nine states was approved by a federal judge Nov. 1, possibly bringing to a close more than four years of legal wrangling over the software giant's business practices. U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, though making some modifications in the agreement, largely rejected a push for additional remedies made by state attorneys general from nine other states who thought the settlement wasn't tough enough. Her ruling was seen as a victory for Microsoft, which contended that the additional remedies -- including disclosing more of the code that runs its Windows operating system to competitors -- would have been detrimental to the company. Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who was among the group objecting to the settlement, said the ruling was still being reviewed and that no decision had been made on whether to appeal. However, at a news conference, both he and Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who had also pressed for tougher remedies, sounded a conciliatory tone, saying the changes Kollar-Kotelly made improved the agreement reached last year. "We've been in litigation long enough to know that you get some things and other things you don't," Miller said. "We're not claiming complete victory, but we don't think that other side can claim that, either." Gates respondsIn a videotaped statement, Bill Gates, Microsoft's founder and chairman, called the settlement "a tough, but fair, compromise" that, while imposing restrictions on the company, would allow Microsoft "to continue to innovate." He promised to abide by its requirements. "We recognize that we will be closely scrutinized by the government and our competitors, and we will devote all the time, energy and resources needed to ensure that we meet our responsibilities," he said. At a later news conference, Gates said that while company attorneys were still evaluating the ruling, "at this point, we're not seeing anything that would be cause for appeal." Washington declares victoryIn Washington, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft called the ruling "a great victory" for American consumers that would ensure competition in the software industry. "Today's decision will allow the approved settlement to provide certainty and stability in a vital sector of America's economy," said Ashcroft, who vowed that the Justice Department's antitrust division will vigorously monitor Microsoft to make sure it lives up to the agreement. The terms of the settlement will make it easier for personal computer makers to use software from Microsoft competitors, require Microsoft to have uniform contracts with manufacturers and prohibit the company from retaliating against companies who choose products from Microsoft rivals. Microsoft was sued in 1998 by the Justice Department, 18 states and the District of Columbia, who alleged that the company illegally used its monopoly in desktop computer operating systems to stifle competition. After a lengthy trial, a different federal judge ruled that Microsoft violated antitrust law to protect its market monopoly, primarily by attacking both Netscape Communications Corp. and Sun Microsystems' Java technology. States refuse to go alongLast year, the Justice Department and nine states reached a settlement. But the District of Columbia and nine other states -- California, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Utah and West Virginia -- refused to go along and asked Kollar-Kotelly to impose additional remedies. The non-settling states unsuccessfully pressed the judge to require Microsoft to disclose more of its source code, which could make it easier for competitors' software to work with its Windows operating system, as well as requiring the company to sell a version of Windows that would allow customers to more easily remove Microsoft features. Miller said the most important modification the judge made was to require that outside directors on the Microsoft board, who are not company employees, oversee compliance, and that the company appoint a compliance officer who would report directly to the state attorneys general. "We think that this is a strong improvement," he said. According to Miller, the judge also toughened language in the proposed settlement which would prohibit the Microsoft from threatening to retaliate against companies who do business with competitors, and computer hardware makers were given more flexibility to make agreements with Internet service providers other than Microsoft.
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