Microsoft Next Move in Antitrust Case
Post | at | by Mike
Microsoft Corp. plans to argue in court hearings next week that if antitrust sanctions sought by state prosecutors are granted, the company would be forced to pull its latestWindows computeroperating systems off the market and be unable to develop new systems. In court filings late Friday, the company said the recently released consumer operating system, Windows XP, and the business-oriented Windows 2000 system could not be redesigned to satisfy state demands that they be made available in separate versions, with and without key programs, such as the Internet Explorer Web browser.
The states want Kollar-Kotelly to withhold judgment on the agreement until after they present their case. Microsoft and the Justice Department want Kollar-Kotelly to quickly rule on the agreement and then impose the same terms in the state case. The judge has given no indication of how, of if, she intends to marry the two judgments. Microsoft has asked the judge to dismiss the states' case, challenging their legal right to pursue national antitrust penalties.