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Judge Sends Microsoft Case to High Court
The judge in the Microsoft antitrust case sent the company's appeal directly to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, and suspended stringent business restrictions of the software giant he had ordered to take effect in September.
If the Supreme Court decides to keep the case, a resolution of the landmark trial could come as soon as next year, as the government has urged.
Alternatively, the high court could send it to the US Court of Appeals to hear first, which Microsoft supports.
US District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ordered the break-up of the company June 7 to prevent future antitrust violations, but suspended the split until all appeals were finished.
Jackson also ordered temporary business restrictions that were to take effect on Sept. 5.
In his ruling on Tuesday Jackson reversed himself on the conduct remedies and said they were suspended "until the appeal is decided" by the Supreme Court, or until another appeals court reinstates them.
The conduct remedies would have required Microsoft to give software developers greater access to the code behind its Windows personal computer operating system. It would also have had to treat large computer makers equally and allow them to customize how Windows appears on their screens.
"The decision to certify the case for potential direct appeal to the Supreme Court was widely expected, but we're very pleased the court has stayed the judgement pending appeal," said a Microsoft spokesman, Mark Murray.
"This will allow our appeal to go forward promptly without unnecessary disruption to consumers or the high-tech industry," he said in a telephone conversation. "We look forward to presenting our appeal and getting a prompt resolution of the case."
Murray said he was confident Microsoft would win on appeal. The company has already beaten the Justice Department once in the appeals court, in 1998, getting a reversal of a Jackson decision in an earlier skirmish with the government.
The Justice Department, too, expressed satisfaction with the judge's decision and looked to the Supreme Court as its preferred venue.
"This decision affirms the Department's position that a quick and effective remedy is necessary to resolve this significant case," the government said in a statement.
It said the decision to suspend any remedy makes the prompt resolution by the Supreme Court more urgent.
"Given the District Court's decision to stay the remedy during the appeal process, the direct appeal to the Supreme Court is of particular importance to the national interest," the statement said.
Judges may send appeals from antitrust cases brought by the government directly to the Supreme Court when they find they are "of general public importance in the administration of justice," according to the law.
"The sooner a meaningful remedy is in place, the better it will be for consumers and the marketplace by providing increased innovation, more choices and better products," the Justice Department said.
Jackson ruled in his landmark decision that Microsoft violated the nation's antitrust laws by using its monopoly power in personal computer operating systems to intimidate customers into using its products instead of those of rivals.
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