Interesting People mailing list archives
IP: Judge -- Microsoft broke the law!
From: David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
Date: Mon, 3 Apr 2000 19:32:00 -0400
[ it is good to see at least round one over. I am satisfied my contribution (and it was a memorable experience) was not wasted and expect that if this is upheld the field will change for the better and will , I hope, make a strong and innovative MS also. djf] Updated 7:19 PM ET April 3, 2000By Lisa M. Bowman and Mary Jo Foley, ZDNet News Saying that Microsoft Corp. "placed an oppressive thumb on the scale of competitive fortune," U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson issued a scathing ruling on Monday, finding that the company violated federal and state antitrust laws. Jackson's ruling came after settlement talks between the two sides broke down Saturday and U.S. Circuit Judge Richard Posner -- whom Jackson appointed to oversee the negotiations -- said the sides were too far apart to come to any agreement. The DOJ and 19 states attorneys general filed suit against Microsoft in May 1998. In Monday's ruling, Jackson said Microsoft violated antitrust laws by using anti-competitive methods to maintain its market dominance and by monopolizing the Web browser market. Jackson also said Microsoft illegally tied its browser to Windows in an effort to thwart rival Netscape Communications Corp. However, the ruling sides with Microsoft on one point, saying the exclusive contracts the software giant struck with some companies were not necessarily illegal. Nevertheless, Jackson lambasted Microsoft's conduct overall, saying "but only when the separate categories of conduct are viewed, as they should be, as a single well-coordinated course of action does the full extent of the violence that Microsoft has done to the competitive process reveal itself." http://news.excite.com/news/zd/000403/19/judge-microsoft
Current thread:
- IP: Judge -- Microsoft broke the law! David Farber (Apr 03)