Legal questions dog Microsoft buy
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A legal row over software ownership could hinder Microsoft&#39;s ability to offer products based on technology from its latest acquisition, anti-spyware company Giant Company Software.
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Almost everything that can be said has been said about the latest moves by Microsoft to create Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) about Linux. Countless pundits and analysts have pointed out that Microsoft threats are toothless. Some have noted that Microsoft has singled out Linux and OpenOffice, the biggest threats to its monopoly on operating systems and office suites. Surely Microsoft could claim that the *BSDs infringe on similar patents if not the same ones. But the *BSDs do not pose as great a threat to the company. Others have pointed out that Microsoft would be insane to pull an SCO and sue its own customers. Still others have noted that IBM and/or OIN could respond to a patent war with a massive retaliation in patent infringement claims. I have no doubt that Microsoft has lifted a lot of GPL code (more likely algorithms) for Windows, which would prevent Microsoft from following through with its threats. To do so would require that Microsoft open its own code to scrutiny. The list goes on, and others have covered the angles very well. There is one perspective I haven't yet seen, at least not the way I propose to deal with it. This perspective follows below.
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Microsoft says it will be a challenge to convince some consumers to buy its new version of Office.
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Key dates in the European Union's antitrust proceedings against Microsoft Corp.:
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A group of state plaintiffs in the U.S. Microsoft antitrust case will ask for a five-year extension of a large portion of the 2002 judgment against the company, the group's lawyer said Tuesday.
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Microsoft&#39;s compliance with a&#160;U.S. antitrust settlement&#160;will remain under court supervision for another two years, in part because the company delayed producing documentation required by the court, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia extended the court&#39;s supervision through Nov. 12, 2009, writing that the 2002 settlement had not fully taken effect. Several U.S. states involved in the case had sought a five-year extension, despite opposition from the Department of Justice.As part of the settlement, Microsoft is required to document information on communication protocols, making it easier for other software manufacturers to create products that work well with the Windows OS.The documentation has been a sticking point between the company and the government. Microsoft has been ordered to rewrite the documentation, which was supposed to have been complete by February 2003, to make it clearer.In her ruling, Kollar-Kotelly blamed Microsoft. &quot;Although the technical documentation project is complex and novel, it is clear, at least to the Court, that Microsoft is culpable for this inexcusable delay,&quot; she wrote.But she also wrote that the company had been &quot;overwhelmingly cooperative&quot; in the years after the antitrust settlement, and that this latest extension should not be viewed as a sanction.Microsoft will continue to comply with the antitrust ruling and has built its latest operating system, Vista, to comply with the rules, the company said.&quot;We are gratified that the court recognized our extensive efforts to work cooperatively with the large number of government agencies involved,&quot; said Brad Smith, Microsoft&#39;s general counsel and senior vice president.&#160;
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I have no problem with Microsoft operating in a market environment. Given a choice, I am sure many of us would gladly pay for Windows and Office rather than use Linux and Open Office.
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Business & money: Microsoft chairman denies the software giant is renegotiating its 'full and very fair' takeover offer
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Microsoft says it will comply with sanctions imposed by the European Commission and upheld by the Court of First Instance. The EU says the software company must offer an unbundled version of Windows without Windows Media Player.
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European antitrust regulators worry that Microsoft could dominate the burgeoning market for digital rights management software
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(InfoWorld) - The latest status report on Microsoft Corp.'s compliance with an antitrust settlement in the U.S. has cleared the company of a separate accusation of not complying with orders to disclose information to make its products more interoperable. An expert witness in a class-action suit filed in Iowa, Comes v. Microsoft, testified that the company had not documented APIs (application programming interfaces) as required by the 2002 settlement with the Justice Department and states. The plaintiffs from the 2002 settlement met with the expert witness in the Iowa case and examined material, concluding that "there is no evidence that Microsoft has not fully disclosed the APIs." The conclusion was tucked away in the report, published on Tuesday, by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which monitors Microsoft's compliance with the settlement. Microsoft reached a settlement in February in the Comes case, filed in Polk County District Court, after plaintiffs argued the company overcharged them for software. In April, a judge gave preliminary approval to a settlement that calls for Microsoft to pay up to US$179.95 million to individual users and businesses that bought Microsoft software between May 18, 1994, and June 30, 2006. The case is due for a final review on Aug. 31. If approved, eligible Iowans will be able to receive $16 for OSes; $29 for Office, $25 for Excel and $10 for Word. Individual users will get cash, while volume buyers will get vouchers for products from Microsoft, its competitors and others. Microsoft estimates the cost of Iowa settlement, as well as settlements reached with Arkansas and Wisconsin in March, plus an outstanding case in Mississippi, could cost the company between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion, according to an April 26 filing with the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission. Â
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Investor's Business Daily - Software king Microsoft continues to clear its legal plate, saying Monday it's settled disputes with Novell and a trade group that's doggedly pursued antitrust cases against Microsoft in the U.S. and Europe.
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Microsoft Corp is ready to ask a judge  on Thursday to suspend penalties imposed on it for violating  antitrust law by using the monopoly of its Windows operating  system to hurt competitors.
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In the wake of rising concerns within companies about intellectual-property lawsuits over software, Microsoft is considering ways to broaden the indemnification policy that provides legal protection to its customers.
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Doubts over charges against a US firm underscore concerns about the legal system and foreign investment.
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REDMOND, Wash., Dec. 12  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --      What:     Press conference about an enterprise agreement between the              companies   (Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO )     Who:      Microsoft Corp.
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After EU antitrust ruling, company questions whether Microsoft's patent arrangement is compatible with open-source licensing.