Court To Issue Ruling in Microsoft Antitrust Cases Friday

After a four-month quiet period, the U.S. District Court will hand out its decision Friday afternoon in the historic Microsoft antitrust cases.

According to an alert distributed by the federal court, United States District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly will issue her opinions in the Microsoft cases at about 4:30 p.m. Friday.

The court will issue a ruling on the non-settling states case against Microsoft as well as on the proposed consent decree between the company and the U.S. Department of Justice agreed on last fall.

Closing arguments were finished in June.

Industry observers originally expected a decision in late summer. The civil case was filed late last year against Microsoft by nine states that objected to the proposed consent decree agreed on by Microsoft and the DOJ last fall. After the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush urged both parties to settle the case in the interest of the U.S. economy. The nine states want more stringent remedies against the software giant, which was found guilty of violating several sections of the Sherman Antitrust Act in 2001.

Possible additional remedies include forcing Microsoft to ship a stripped-down version of Windows without any Internet middleware, such as Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player and Windows Messenger.

Taking the stand for the first time in the four-year-old antitrust case last spring, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said such a remedy would create massive fragmentation of the Windows industry and hurt consumers and the entire computer industry. Microsoft has urged the courts to support the proposed consent decree.

His opponents, however, argue that a stripped-down version of Windows is a good solution to level the playing field and prevent the company from extending its monopoly in the Web services market. Those following the case closely have been awaiting a decision from the U.S. District Court since early September.

One observer said he favors the court accepting the proposed consent decree, which includes resolutions and changes to Windows that Microsoft instituted with Windows 2000 SP3 and Windows XP Service Pack 1. However, opponents such as ProComp said the Windows XP changes aren't adequate and fall short of what was promised as part of the consent decree.

"A final resolution of the Microsoft antitrust case in the form of the adoption of the U.S. DOJ/Microsoft settlement [with minor adjustments] will provide stability in the PC sector," said Nicholas Economides, an economics professor at New York University's business school. "At this stage, any different decision is likely to create a new round of litigation, including an appeal to the Supreme Court."