Microsoft's legal costs fall

Seattle PI | at | by Mike

Legal payouts of $511 million in one year would be enough to sink many companies. But for Microsoft, it amounts to a small victory.

That's what the Redmond company paid in legal settlements and related expenses in its fiscal year 2007, ended June 30. It was Microsoft's lowest total in years -- down from about $2.3 billion in payouts two years earlier.

But with cases still pending, most notably in Europe, it's not clear if the trend will continue.