Microsoft on Monday laid out its defense in the antitrust case pursued by nine states, arguing that the states are entitled to no penalties stricter than those the company agreed to in its settlement with the federal government last year.
The Microsoft document, well over 500 pages, summarizes the points the company made in two months of testimony and arguments earlier this year. It is the last step before closing arguments in the case, scheduled for June 19.
"Today's court filing details the strong record we built during trial and provides evidence that supports our main arguments: that the states' remedy is unworkable, would cause great harm to the PC ecosystem, would hurt consumers and is hopelessly vague and ambiguous," Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler said in a statement.
As a matter of law, Microsoft argues that the states do not have the legal standing to demand any remedies at all. But "in the interests of maintaining uniformity," the company's lawyers wrote, the federal settlement should be entered as an alternative judgment.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who will decide this case as well as the federal settlement, has not made a ruling on the states' right to sue. She also has not indicated whether she will approve the federal deal.
News source: The Nando Times - Microsoft files defense document in antitrust case
The Microsoft document, well over 500 pages, summarizes the points the company made in two months of testimony and arguments earlier this year. It is the last step before closing arguments in the case, scheduled for June 19.
"Today's court filing details the strong record we built during trial and provides evidence that supports our main arguments: that the states' remedy is unworkable, would cause great harm to the PC ecosystem, would hurt consumers and is hopelessly vague and ambiguous," Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler said in a statement.
As a matter of law, Microsoft argues that the states do not have the legal standing to demand any remedies at all. But "in the interests of maintaining uniformity," the company's lawyers wrote, the federal settlement should be entered as an alternative judgment.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who will decide this case as well as the federal settlement, has not made a ruling on the states' right to sue. She also has not indicated whether she will approve the federal deal.
News source: The Nando Times - Microsoft files defense document in antitrust case
The states want Microsoft to make a number of changes that the company says would hurt consumers and cripple the company. Microsoft would have to create a modular version of the Windows operating system, in which particular components could be removed and replaced by computer manufacturers. The states also want Microsoft to put its Internet Explorer Web browser into the public domain and translate its Office productivity software to other operating systems.
Microsoft was found by a federal appeals court to have used illegal means to stamp out nascent competition in order to protect its Windows monopoly.
The company argued that the states' proposals go far beyond Microsoft's original illegal acts.
"These provisions address matters unrelated to the liability determinations upheld by the court of appeals - and hence are more likely to harm than to promote competition," company lawyers wrote.
The states maintain that Microsoft has had years to benefit from its unfair behavior, and that the legal system allows the states to take stronger measures in order to level the playing field. Then, the states say, consumers and software designers would have the means to choose which operating system they want to use.
The original judge in the antitrust case, Thomas Penfield Jackson, ordered Microsoft broken into two companies. An appeals court upheld many of the violations but reversed the breakup order and appointed Kollar-Kotelly to determine a new punishment.
States that rejected the government's settlement with Microsoft last fall and are pressing for tougher penalties are Iowa, Utah, Massachusetts, Connecticut, California, Kansas, Florida, Minnesota and West Virginia, along with the District of Columbia.
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