COURT SAYS MICROSOFT MUST INCLUDE LATEST ‘JAVA’ IN WINDOWS
Federal judge said he would order Microsoft to stop shipping outdated and inconsistent version of Java in its Windows operating systems. In 42-page decision, U.S. Dist. Judge Frederick Motz, Baltimore, granted Sun Microsystems preliminary “must-carry” injunction against Microsoft, adding: “I further find it is an absolute certainty that unless a preliminary injunction is entered, Sun will have lost forever its right to compete, and the opportunity to prevail, in a market undistorted by its competitor’s antitrust violations.” He said there was “substantial” likelihood court would impose “elegantly simple remedy” of requiring Microsoft’s software to support Java.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
Motz stressed his decision considered future effects of Microsoft’s anticompetitive behavior on marketplace: “Microsoft, Sun and the developer community are all looking toward the future, and in order to determine whether a must-carry injunction is necessary and appropriate, a court must do so as well.” Supporting Sun’s contention that software developers were building on Microsoft’s new .NET Internet platform because of Microsoft’s inconsistent distribution of Java, Motz said that if Microsoft’s system were to remain dominant, “it should be because of .NET’s superior qualities, not because Microsoft leveraged its PC monopoly to create market conditions in which it is unfairly advantaged.”
In response to testimony of Microsoft officials, Motz said evidence “suggests they share what some might characterize as their employer’s imperialist inclinations.” He said unless Sun was able to fully compete in market, there was “serious risk that in the near future the market will tip in favor of .Net, that it is impossible to ascertain when such tipping might occur in time to prevent it from happening, and that if the market does tip in favor of .Net, Sun could not be adequately compensated in damages.”
In granting temporary injunction, Motz agreed with Sun that waiting until $1 billion antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft was settled would unfairly tip balance in favor of Microsoft: “In the final analysis, the public interest in this case rests in assuring that free enterprise be genuinely free, untainted by the effects of antitrust violations… Competition is not only about winning the prize; its deeper value lies in giving all those who choose to compete an opportunity to demonstrate their worth.”
Ruling will remain in effect while case -- one of 4 private antitrust suits stemming from Justice Dept.’s 1998 antitrust case against Microsoft -- is either tried or settled. Sun Vp Mike Morris praised ruling as “a huge victory for consumers who will have the best, latest Java technology on their PCs, and it is a victory for software developers who will write applications to run on those PCs.”
Microsoft spokesman said company was “disappointed” with ruling and after reviewing details planned to appeal and ask for expedited hearing by 4th U.S. Appeals Court, Richmond, Va.: “Microsoft intends to appeal today’s ruling and will ask the Court of Appeals to hear it on an expedited basis.” He said it was “premature” to comment on when latest version of Java would be included in Windows.