Original Sender : Ari <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------- http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/04/biztech/articles/01microsoft-antitrust.html April 1, 1999 Microsoft Trial Could Drag Into 2000 By JOEL BRINKLEY WASHINGTON -- The presiding judge in the Microsoft antitrust trial Wednesday tentatively set May 10 as the date for the trial to resume and laid out a longer timetable for additional testimony, oral arguments and written submissions, virtually ensuring that the trial will not end much before 2000. That is a far cry from the fast-track trial originally anticipated. When the Justice Department filed the landmark antitrust suit last May, government lawyers and the judge, Thomas Penfield Jackson of U.S. District Court, said that because the issues were urgent, the trial would proceed quickly. "I am prepared to devote the month of September to this trial," the judge said then. He was talking about September 1998. But the trial did not get started until the end of October, and first stage, cross-examination of each side's witnesses, took more than four months -- far longer than anyone had expected. Microsoft generally spent four or five days cross-examining each of the government's 12 witnesses. The protracted trial ensures that the government will fail to achieve its pre-eminent goal in filing the suit last May 19 -- to stop the bundling of a Web browser with Microsoft's new operating system, Windows 98, which had not yet been released. In fact, last spring, responding to Microsoft's request that the start of the trial be postponed until January 1999, Jackson said: "By the time you propose to be ready, 16 to 18 million horses will already be out of the barn, and that's too late." The "horses" to which he referred were copies of Windows 98, which went on sale last June. But by the end of this year, Windows 98 will be near the end of its life span; the next version, Windows 2000, is scheduled to be released early next year. Already, tens of millions of personal computers have Microsoft's Web browser, Internet Explorer, installed by default. Antitrust experts say now that if Microsoft loses, the government will ask for remedies that would set broader rules for the future rather than attempting to mediate current behavior. "This industry moves too fast," a senior government official involved in the case said Wednesday. "Just look at what has happened already during the course of this trial. This argues for broader remedies." While the trial was under way, America Online agreed to buy Microsoft's major competitor in the browser market, the Netscape Communications Corp., and began cooperating with Sun Microsystems on new Web browsers and related technology. Executives from those three companies testified against Microsoft at the trial, and Microsoft argued that the new alliances evinced strong competition in the industry, making the antitrust suit unnecessary -- a point of view the government disputes. And last summer, a federal appeals court ruled in Microsoft's favor in a related, earlier case, saying the company had the right to bundle its browser with Windows if the combination benefitted consumers. After that, the focus of the government's case seemed to shift to emphasize issues like Microsoft's contracts with computer makers and Internet service providers. It remains possible that the two sides will settle the case in the next few weeks, eliminating any need for further trial proceedings. They held two hours of talks at the Justice Department Tuesday evening and plan to meet again -- though officials decline to say where or when. Tuesday evening's session was described as cordial but inconclusive. During the scheduling hearing in court Wednesday, neither Jackson nor the litigants made any mention of the talks. Outside the courtroom afterward, representatives of Microsoft, the Justice Department and the 19 states that joined in the suit stood before reporters to say that none of them would discuss the settlement talks while they were under way. "If there are going to be productive settlement discussions, they must not take place publicly," said David Boies, the government's lead trial lawyer, who took part in Tuesday's session. Government officials and Microsoft executives all seemed to be viewing the talks seriously Wednesday. Last week, Justice Department lawyers were dismissive of Microsoft's approach for settlement discussions, calling it nothing more than a public relations maneuver. The May 10 date for resumption of the trial is tentative because Jackson is hearing another trial now and said he was not sure when it would end. When the Microsoft trial does resume, each side will present three rebuttal witnesses, and each witness is expected to spend about one week on the stand. After that, in roughly 30-day intervals, the litigants each file findings of fact. They both offer oral arguments. After an expected summer vacation, the judge will issue his own findings of fact. After that, the litigants file conclusions of law. Finally, late this year -- or possibly early next year -- the judge will issue his ruling. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Compu-Mania MailingList is provided by PT Centrin Utama Maintained by : [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Post a msg : Send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe : Mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] BODY : unsubscribe Compu-Mania For more information, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "HELP" in the BODY of your mail (without quote). ----------------------------------------------------------------
