Judge Endorses Microsoft Settlement
SeattlePI | at | by Mike
A federal judge on Friday accepted nearly all the provisions of an antitrust settlement between Microsoft Corp. and the Justice Department, but warned top company executives that she will hold them individually responsible for complying with her instructions. In an enormous victory for Microsoft and founder Bill Gates, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly rebuffed arguments by nine states and the District of Columbia that tougher sanctions were essential to restore competition in the computer industry.
She concluded that some penalties proposed by those states would chiefly benefit the company's rivals. She made a few minor changes to the settlement that require acceptance by Microsoft and the Justice Department.