IP: 'Unbiased' Ads for Microsoft Came at a Price

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/09/biztech/articles/18soft.html

Newspaper advertisements that a California institute presented as independent views supporting Microsoft Corp.'s 
position in its antitrust trial were actually paid for by Microsoft, the institute conceded Friday.

The full-page newspaper ads, published in The New York Times and The Washington Post by the Independent Institute last 
June, were in the form of a letter signed by 240 academic experts. They prompted news stories and courtroom discussion 
during the trial. 

The academics were not told that Microsoft was paying for the ads, and at least one now says he would not have signed 
if he had known the source of the financing. 

Greg Shaw, a public relations manager for Microsoft, confirmed Friday night that the company had paid for the ads. "We 
thought this was an important, substantive letter, and we were interested in contributing to making it visible," he 
said. "In our view, the letter speaks for itself." 


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