Gov't. Defends Microsoft Settlement
Yahoo | at | by Mike
The Justice Department set out to prove Wednesday that its antitrust settlement with Microsoft is a bird in the hand and better than what it reasonably could have expected if it had gone back to court to seek tougher penalties.
Philip Beck, speaking for the government, told U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly that a federal appeals court radically narrowed the scope of Microsoft's wrongdoing, making it difficult for the government to seek stronger penalties against the software giant. Getting more "would have been an uphill battle that likely would have been resolved against us," said Beck. He argued that the settlement still goes further than what the appeals court decided was Microsoft's legal liability.
The settlement would prevent Microsoft from retaliating against partners for using non-Microsoft products; require the company to disclose some of its software blueprints so software developers can make compatible products; and make it easier for consumers to remove extra Windows features.