Latest states witness
Yahoo | at | by Mike
The CEO of set-top box software maker Liberate Technologies today is to be the latest government witness to accuse Microsoft of strong-arm behavior.
But some legal experts say nine states face an uphill climb as they argue such markets are within the scope of a trial on their proposed sanctions for Microsoft's antitrust violations in PC software. The judge is weighing the sanctions against a settlement reached by Microsoft, the Justice Department and nine other states.
Yet prosecutors have work to do. Kollar-Kotelly seems to be leaning conservatively, especially after the appeals court chided the previous judge, Thomas Penfield Jackson, for a broad reading of the law. "This is a much more skeptical and focused judge," says Chicago antitrust lawyer Hillard Sterling. "She probably won't consider remedies that don't fit within the confines of the appeals court ruling."