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Justice lawyers say Microsoft broke the law

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CIOL Bureau
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As settlement talks continued in Chicago this week, lawyers for the U.S. Justice Department and 19 states filed papers with Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson accusing Microsoft of breaking antitrust laws in at least four ways. The government lawyers based most of their arguments on Jackson's recent 207 page report that found Microsoft to be a monopoly and having used its monopoly power to stifle competition. The brief filed by the DoJ and other plaintiffs accuses Microsoft of illegally tying the purchase of its operating system and Internet explorer browser to deals with customers aimed at keeping rival Web browser Navigator from Netscape away from consumers.



Microsoft illegally maintained its Windows monopoly and its business practices restrained trade. "Microsoft violated the law through a host of actions that illegally maintained critical barriers of entry into the market for operating systems," the 70-page document states. The government has argued that Microsoft executives feared Netscape's browser could displace the Windows operating system, by serving as a substitute platform to run software. Microsoft’s response is due January 17. Following several additional rounds of written briefs, oral arguments will be heard starting February 22. After that, Jackson will rule whether Microsoft violated the law before addressing the issue of punishment.

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