July 4, 2009
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 Microsoft Antitrust Case: 1998-2008



Lawmakers: Microsoft Has
Been More Responsible
Five years ago, Microsoft settled its antitrust case with the Justice Department. Since then, the company has won favor with some lawmakers who say the company has faithfully implemented the terms of its consent decree and is acting more responsibly in the software marketplace.

Foreign Regulators Take
Tougher Line On Microsoft
Microsoft's regulatory fortunes in the United States appear to have taken a turn for the better of late, but the same is not true elsewhere in the world.

Google, Apple, Intel:
The Next Competition Targets?
The Internet behemoth Google, the computer and software manufacturer Apple, and Intel, the world's largest semiconductor company, risk becoming the next major American antitrust targets in the wake of the epic Microsoft mayhem, experts told Technology Daily.

Microsoft Is Facing New
Challenges Since Settlement
Microsoft's competitive situation has changed substantially in the years since the company settled its antitrust case with the U.S. and state governments in 2001, and the increasingly fast, cheap and accessible Internet has been a key factor.

The Microsoft Trial:
Looking Back 10 Years Later
Ten years ago, Bill Clinton was in the White House; Silicon Valley's dot-com boom was in full swing; and the Department of Justice was preparing to launch what would become an epic antitrust battle against Bill Gates' brainchild.

A Q&A With Microsoft's David Heiner
Microsoft's associate general counsel David Heiner sat down with Technology Daily recently to discuss how times have changed for his employer.

Microsoft's Philanthropic
Record Has Won Praise
Microsoft's lengthy legal battle with the U.S. government might have tarnished the high-tech company's reputation in the court of public opinion, but the Redmond, Wash.-based behemoth has garnered international praise for its philanthropic record.

Internal Microsoft E-Mail From Steve Ballmer
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer notifies the firm's employees that it has settled with the U.S. government over the antitrust case in this November 2001 e-mail.



 Also in this package
  • Key Players
    •
  • Trial Audio
  • Timeline
  • Related Video

    • Case documents


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    Key Players


    Click on the image to view a slide show profiling key players in the case.




    Testimony Audio



    Click on the image to visit an audio archive of Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates' Aug. 27, 1998 testimony in US v. Microsoft.




    Trial Timeline

    1998
  • May -- The Justice Department and 19 states plus the District of Columbia file antitrust lawsuits against Microsoft relating to the Windows operating system and competition with Netscape in Web browsing.
  • October -- A consolidated antitrust case against Microsoft goes to trial before Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
    		•
    1999
  • November -- Judge Jackson, in a preliminary ruling, said Microsoft used its monopoly power to harm consumers and competitors.
    		•
    2000
  • April -- Judge Jackson rules that Microsoft unlawfully maintained a monopoly in Windows and unlawfully tied its Web browser to Windows.
  • June -- Judge Jackson orders the breakup of Microsoft into two companies.
    		•
    2001
  • June -- A federal appeals court unanimously affirms the monopolization ruling but overturns the tying ruling. The appeals court also reverses the breakup order and disqualifies Judge Jackson from further participation in the case due to an appearance of bias.
  • October -- U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly appoints a mediator and "urges the parties to remain steadfast in their efforts to reach a mutually agreeable resolution" on remedies.
  • November -- The Justice Department and Microsoft reach a tentative agreement to settle the antitrust case and submit a proposed settlement to the district court for approval. Four days later, nine plaintiff states join the settlement.
    		•
    2002
  • March -- Judge Kollar-Kotelly commences a trial on a request by nine other states and the District of Columbia, led by California, for far stiffer remedies to be imposed on Microsoft.
  • Early 2002 -- Microsoft unveils new business practices and product changes it will implement as part of the settlement with the Department of Justice, including giving users the ability to remove access to Windows features, such as the Internet Explorer browser, and see only competing products.
  • November -- Judge Kollar-Kotelly approves the settlement between Microsoft, the Department of Justice and nine plaintiff states. Microsoft is ordered to comply with the consent decree for five years. The judge also rules against the stiffer remedies requested by nine states and the District of Columbia.
    		•
    2004
  • June -- A federal appeals court unanimously approves the settlement between Microsoft and the Department of Justice, rejecting objections from Massachusetts that the sanctions are inadequate.
    		•
    2006
  • May -- The Justice Department announces that Microsoft has voluntarily agreed to extend until November 2009 selected provisions of the consent decree governing the licensing of client-server communications protocols.
  • July -- Microsoft adopts a set of principles that will guide the company's future development of the Windows desktop platform after major parts of the consent decree expire.
    		•
    2007
  • Aug. 30 -- The Justice Department and six states, including New York, tell the court the consent decree has achieved its goals.
  • Oct. 16 -- Less than a month before the consent decree is due to expire, a group of seven states led by California asks the court to extend the decree until 2012 on the grounds that it has not been successful. Two days later four other states, including New York, join the California group in seeking a five-year extension of the consent decree, but this group argues the decree has been successful and its benefits should continue.
  • Oct. 19 -- The Justice Department tells the court "it does not believe the standard for such an extension has been met" and the consent decree should expire in November.
  • Oct. 30 -- All parties agree to temporarily extend the consent decree until Jan. 31, 2008, to give Judge Kollar-Kotelly time to consider whether to grant the California group's request for a five-year extension.
  • Nov. 9 -- The Justice files an amicus curiae brief explaining in detail why it believes the consent decree has accomplished its goal and does not need to be extended. Visa and Weyerhaeuser also file a separate friend-of-the-court briefs opposing an extension of the consent decree.
    		•




    Related Video

    "Charlie Rose": March 4, 1998

    Charlie Rose interviews Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates about the case and his testimony before the Senate.


    "Charlie Rose": May 14, 1998

    Interviews with Microsoft attorneys Rick Rule and Kevin Arquit, and Richard Branson, founder and chairman of the Virgin Group.


    "Charlie Rose": Nov. 8, 1999

    Interviews with Microsoft representatives and Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.


    "Charlie Rose": Nov. 7, 2002

    Rose interviews Gates.


    InfoWorld: Microsoft loses EU antitrust appeal

    Oct. 27, 2007: Europe's second highest court has upheld the bulk of a 2004 antitrust ruling against Microsoft by the European Commission.

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