Judge finds Microsoft guilty

REDMOND: Microsoft Corp said on Monday it would eventually appeal the ruling and voiced confidence that it would ultimately prevail in the case. "We will seek an expedited appeal of this ruling," Microsoft spokesman Tom Pilla said, just minutes after Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson issued his conclusions of law in the case.

Pilla noted an appeal could be filed only after Jackson decides on legal remedies, a process that will take several months as he weighs proposals from the US Justice Department and the 19 states involved in the case. "We continue to believe that the legal system will ultimately rule in our favour and uphold our ability to develop new and innovative software products," Pilla said.

Jackson’s ruling against Microsoft, which came after months of negotiations between Microsoft and Justice failed to produce a settlement, was widely expected based on his preliminary finding late last year that Microsoft abused a monopoly in PC operating systems to harm consumers and rivals.

LONDON: Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said on Tuesday he did not think a US Federal judge’s anti-trust ruling would lead to a break-up of his software company. "I don’t think any kind of extreme remedy such as a breakup is at all consistent with what the court put foward," Gates said. He added the matter was subject to an appeal but said he was confident Microsoft would prevail. "Common sense stands on our side," Gates said.

Representatives of the Justice Department and the 19 states said that brought the case left open the possibility that they would seek the strongest remedy available for such a serious violation – a break-up of the company. Alternatively they could seek changes in the company’s business practices.

Jackson will determine the remedy during the next phase of the trial. The trial, which began in October 1998, will likely be completed in October of this year and appeals could last through 2002, if the case goes to the Supreme Court.

Microsoft promised to appeal once the trial ends months from now and was confident it would ultimately prevail. The company’s stock, down the entire day, improved slightly after the verdict.

Netscape’s market share withered under Microsoft’s attack and it sold out to America Online during the early part of the trial. "We’ve been vindicated," said Netscape’s James Barksdale. "This ruling is great for consumers and for people who use technology," Barksdale said. "It will greatly improve America’s technological leadership and the ability of small tech companies to do business." The ruling "confirms what almost everybody in the world knows – Microsoft is a monopoly that has acted illegally," said Scott McNealy, CEO of Sun Microsystems Inc, the leading maker of computer servers and a fierce competitor of Microsoft.

Sun, as it has in the past, called for the splitting of Microsoft into three separate companies. Intel Corp the world’s largest computer chipmaker and a long-time partner of Microsoft in selling the key components of personal computers, said it was "neutral on the dispute" between Microsoft and the government and would add no comment.

In his 43-page ruling Jackson said "Microsoft maintained its monopoly power by anti-competitive means and attempted to monopolise the Web browser market." While it is legal to gain a monopoly through skill or luck, it is illegal to use that power to perpetuate a monopoly by preventing competitors from springing up.

Representatives of the Justice Department and the 19 states that brought the case left open the possibility that they would seek the strongest remedy available for such a serious violation — a break-up of the company. Alternatively they could seek changes in the company’s business practices.

Microsoft became one of the world’s wealthiest companies, making Gates the world’s richest man, by manufacturing Windows, the software that runs more than 80 per cent of the world’s personal computers.