|
The Supreme Court has ruled that Microsoft must defend itself against allegations it unfairly tried to undermine rivals as far back as the mid-1990s. The case stems from a 2004 lawsuit by software firm Novell, which claimed Microsoft "deliberately targeted and destroyed" its word processor WordPerfect and spreadsheet Quattro Pro. Novell alleges that Microsoft targeted the programs because they could run on non-Windows PCs. By making these programs less popular, Microsoft allegedly tried to make Windows a more attractive operating system.
This week's case is the result of the 2004 lawsuit, which itself came about through a previous federal anti-trust case that ruled Microsoft illegally protected Windows. In its defense, Microsoft argued that because Novell didn't produce an operating system, it couldn't bring a case on this basis. Novell's response, which the Supreme Court backed, was that previous cases involving Netscape's Navigator Internet browser and Sun's Java system had established that software producers could still be harmed by Microsoft's actions. The Novell case will now go to court where, if judges rule against Microsoft, it could have to pay up to three times whatever financial damages Novell can prove it suffered. (Source: dailytech.com) Novell's specific allegation -- which may sound familiar to anyone who has read about Microsoft's recent EU fines -- is that the Redmond-based company kept secrets about software compatibility and Windows 95. Their evidence includes a 1994 email from Bill Gates ordering colleagues to delay handing over the information because such a delay would make for a competitive advantage. Novell also says Microsoft discouraged hardware manufacturers from including WordPerfect or Quattro with Windows-compatible machines. At one stage, WordPerfect was the best-selling word processor, ahead of Microsoft's own Word. (Source: arstechnica.com) Ironically, Novell and Microsoft have been working together on other projects since 2006. It's tough to predict how this case will turn out; judges may rule that Novell have waited far too long to claim any damages. However, this week's ruling does confirm that anti-trust laws can apply to individual programs as well as operating systems.
-- Related newsletter articles:
2008/02/05 Microsoft Yoohoo for Yahoo! (microsoft)
2008/03/07 Yahoo delays board nominations and Microsoft (microsoft)
2008/03/04 Vista Price Slashed (microsoft)
2008/02/08 Popular Judge Interrupts Court Proceedings (court)
2008/02/29 Microsoft's Euro-fines Keep On Mounting (microsoft)
2008/03/12 Microsoft Operates on Office (microsoft)
2008/02/22 Microsoft Gives Free Software to IT Students (microsoft)
2008/02/26 First Vista Update Not Going Well (microsoft)
2008/03/05 First Amendment No Excuse For Misleading Spam, Court Rules (court)
2008/03/07 Microsoft, Yahoo Both Unleash Mobile Web Weapons (microsoft)
2008/02/08 Microsoft Unveils Smarter Web Ads (microsoft)
2008/02/28 Microsoft Revives Hotmail After Catastropic Outage (microsoft)
2008/03/11 Free Google App Attacks Sharepoint (microsoft)
-- Recent articles (from all channels): 2008/05/09 Today in History: for Friday, May 09, 2008
2008/05/09 [ShellX 20080509]: 'Advanced Run', and 'Diver Windows Manager'
2008/05/09 Texas Refuses Facebook Friend Request
2008/05/09 Photo-Enforcement Technology Replaces Officers On Patrol
2008/05/09 Cuban Government Says 'Ok Computer'
2008/05/09 Excel Can E-Mail Your Weekly Reports For You!
2008/05/08 [ShellX 20080508]: 'Shell Enhancer', and 'Lansweeper'
2008/05/08 Xobni: MS Outlook Social Networking Technology for your Inbox
2008/05/08 Music Companies Jump on GTA IV Bandwagon
2008/05/08 Fascinating: Memristor to replace Binary
2008/05/08 Adobe Hopes To Make Flash Master Of The (Mobile) Universe
2008/05/08 Spiffy Envelopes and Labels in MS Word
2008/05/07 [ShellX 20080507]: 'Winbin2iso', and 'Loop Typer'
2008/05/07 Yahoo Adds Security Warnings To Search Results
2008/05/07 Apple to Lose Money on iTunes Movie Releases
2008/05/07 Amazon.com takes New York Tax to Court
2008/05/07 Need Glasses for the Slide Sorter View in MS PowerPoint?
2008/05/07 After Winning The DVD Format War, Blu-Ray Sales Tank
2008/05/06 [ShellX 20080506]: 'Visual Basic 6.0 Portable', and 'Double-...
2008/05/06 Yahoo Outsources to Jajah
2008/05/06 New HP Circuit Could Change Technology Forever
2008/05/06 Movie Downloads To Match DVD Release Dates
2008/05/06 Microsoft Ends Yahoo Bid
2008/05/05 [ShellX 20080505]: 'Ie7 Pro', and 'Desktop Ok'
2008/05/05 The WB Network Hops Online
2008/05/05 Microsoft Slashes Price of Xbox 360 Overseas
2008/05/05 Google CEO Wants YouTube to Take More of Your Money
2008/05/05 Finding Items in MS Outlook's Reading Pane
2008/05/02 [ShellX 20080502]: 'Software Virtualization Solution', and '...
2008/05/02 Rogers Brings iPhone to Canada
2008/05/02 New Google Tool Cuts Down Irrelevant Image Search Results
|
