FC: Microsoft judge: Proposed punishments help rivals, not consumers

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

http://news.com.com/2100-1001-964332.html

   Rivals come up short in decision
   By Declan McCullagh 
   November 1, 2002, 6:00 PM PT

   WASHINGTON--U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said
   Friday that she rejected harsh antitrust punishments for Microsoft
   because they would unfairly benefit its competitors. 
   
   In her strongly worded decision, Kollar-Kotelly said that the remedies
   proposed by nine state attorneys general were so outlandish that they
   amounted to an "unjustified manipulation of the marketplace" designed
   to give competitors such as Sun Microsystems, Apple Computer, and Red
   Hat an "artificial advantage."
   
   In a 344-page decision, Kollar-Kotelly dismissed many of the proposals
   as based on a misunderstanding of antitrust law and the purpose of 32
   days of remedy hearings this spring.
   
   "Microsoft's competitors appear to be those who most desire these
   provisions and, concomitantly, are the likely beneficiaries of these
   provisions, while other competitors in the relevant market would not
   necessarily benefit. In bringing these types of proposals before the
   court, (the states) again misunderstand the task presently before the
   court," Kollar-Kotelly wrote.
   
   Richard Green, a vice president at rival Sun Microsystems, testified
   during the remedy hearing in March that Microsoft's Java Virtual
   Machine was unfairly incompatible with his employer's. But
   Kollar-Kotelly said Sun's complaints were merely an attempt to attack
   a competitor.

   [...]



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