Meditor named in Microsoft case
C|Net | at | by Mike
The government and Microsoft, having failed to settle their landmark antitrust case before the first deadline imposed by a federal judge, now must work with mediator. As earlier reported, lawyers representing Microsoft, the Justice Department and 18 states delivered the news of their failure to reach a settlement in a conference call on Friday with U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, said sources familiar with the telemeeting. Later on Friday, the judge as expected appointed a mediator proposed by the parties. Eric Green, a law professor at Boston University, will work with the two parties through the remainder of the discussions. As settlement negotiations move closer to a court-imposed Nov. 2 deadline, the introduction of the mediator could intensify talks that Kollar-Kotelly has previously said should proceed "24 hours a day, seven days a week." But whether the sides can settle may hinge on what changes Microsoft is willing to make to its new operating system, Windows XP.