Microsoft oversight extended

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 31 Oct 2007 at 12:03

A US federal court has extended oversight of Microsoft until 31 January, in order to consider motions by 18 states to have it prolonged by another five years.

The oversight was scheduled to end on 12 November, but Judge Kollar-Kottely has extended it in order to ponder evidence supplied by the states that Microsoft is not complying with the 2001 antitrust ruling. The judge also gave Microsoft until 6 November to oppose the motion, a week longer than the original deadline.

The oversight was imposed in the wake of the 2001 antitrust ruling against the company and was intended to ensure the software giant did not indulge in anticompetitive behaviour or use its operating system monopoly to crush opposition.

"At the court's request, Microsoft has agreed to a temporary extension to accommodate the briefing schedule for the parties," Microsoft responds in a statement.

"We believe the consent decree has served its purpose, resulting in changes to our business practices and the adoption of a broad set of principles going forward that go beyond the decree's original scope."

The ruling means Microsoft now has three months to persuade the judge the market is a substantially healthier place than it was five years ago.