Microsoft judge: Settlement changes?
C|Net | at | by Mike
A federal judge has asked Microsoft and the Justice Department to file a joint status report on their proposed settlement and, in an unusual move, has asked if they're planning any changes to the settlement in response to public comments. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly's order late Wednesday came two days after 60 days of public comment on the settlement ended. The Justice Department expected that thousands of comments would pour in, partly because of canvassing on the part of Microsoft through its Freedom to Innovate initiative and because of Microsoft competitors working through trade groups.
Jonathan Jacobson, an antitrust attorney with Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld in New York, said the judge's asking for a status report is not out of the ordinary, but the query about settlement changes is highly unusual.