Original Sender : Ari <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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http://www.techserver.com/noframes/story/0,2294,33705-54255-402253-0,00.html
Microsoft verdict likely delayed until late summer, early fall
Copyright � 1999 Nando Media
Copyright � 1999 Associated Press
By TED BRIDIS
WASHINGTON (April 1, 1999 8:58 a.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) -
Microsoft's antitrust case appears likely to continue through late summer
or early fall, after the judge outlined a new courtroom schedule and
promised to resume the marathon trial in mid-May.
The extended recess provides Microsoft and the government more time to try
to negotiate a settlement, although one round of talks ended
unsuccessfully earlier this week after only two hours.
There were no plans to meet again on a specific date, but neither side
ruled out future talks. A person close to the case said Wednesday that
further negotiations were unlikely for at least one week.
In Tuesday night's negotiations at the Justice Department, described as
cordial, Microsoft's top legal negotiators couldn't reach common ground
with government lawyers, another person close to the discussions said.
Talks broke up at 7 p.m.
Both the company and the government declined to comment about negotiations
after a hearing Wednesday.
"If there are going to be productive settlement discussions, they must not
take place publicly," said Justice lawyer David Boies, standing beside
Microsoft's top attorney, William Neukom. "None of us will have any
comment whatsoever about settlement
discussions."
U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, presiding over an unrelated
criminal trial expected to last all April, said he will resume the
Microsoft case May 10 or the Monday following jury deliberations in his
current case.
The new schedule will likely delay any verdict until August or September.
In the interim, Microsoft is expected to release the next version of its
popular Office package of business software programs, and it has promised
the next generation of its computer operating system, Windows 2000, by
year's end.
Antitrust expert William Kovacic of George Washington University said even
with delays, the trial was progressing relatively fast.
"This is the speed of light for antitrust," he said. "To lay people, it
may seem like the movement of a glacier, but in antitrust this remains
extraordinarily quick."
The government alleges that Microsoft illegally wields its influence as
the manufacturer of Windows to stifle competition in the technology
industry. Much of its focus has centered on the company's latest software,
Windows 98.
After nearly five months of testimony from two-dozen witnesses, the trial
will soon enter its rebuttal phase, when Microsoft and the government will
each use three more witnesses to refute the other's characterization of
its case.
The trial, which could have significant effects on the computer industry
in the future, began late in October and was originally expected to last
six to eight weeks.
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