United States v. Microsoft

United States v. Microsoft (87 F. Supp. 2d 30 (D.D.C. 2000)) was a court case filed against Microsoft Corporation on May 18, 1998 by the United States Department of Justice and twenty U.S. states. The plantiffs alleged that Microsoft abused monopoly power in its handling of operating system sales and web browser sales. The issue central to the case was whether Microsoft was allowed to bundle its flagship Internet Explorer web browser software with its Microsoft Windows operating system. Bundling them together is alleged to have been responsible for Microsoft's victory in the browser wars as every Windows user had a copy of Internet Explorer. It was further alleged that this unfairly restricted the market for competing web browsers (such as Netscape Communicator) that were slow to download over a modem or had to be purchased at a store. Underlying these disputes were questions over whether Microsoft altered or manipulated its application programming interfaces (APIs) to favor Internet Explorer over third party web browsers, Microsoft's conduct in forming restrictive licensing agreements with OEM computer manufacturers, and Microsoft's intent in its course of conduct.

External links

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• Final Judgment in U.S. v. Microsoft (injunction including final settlement terms approved by the court) (note that the copy posted on the district court's web site is actually an earlier version that the court declined to approve).
• The Business Community's Suicidal Impulse by Milton Friedman (includes criticism of the antitrust case against Microsoft)
• The United States DOJ's website on U.S. v. Microsoft
• Microsoft's website on U.S. v. Microsoft
• Wired news timeline of the Microsoft antitrust case
• ProComp timeline of litigation against Microsoft. ProComp is an organisation originally set up to lobby against Microsoft, funded by Microsoft's competitors.
• ZDnet story on 4th anniversary of Microsoft antitrust case
• ZDnet story on proposed concessions
• Antitrust & the Internet: Microsoft case archive
• Judge Accepts Settlement in Microsoft Case by Jonathin Krim. The Washington Post, November 2, 2002
• "A Case of Insecure Browsing" by Andrew Chin. Raleigh News & Observer, September 30, 2004
• March/April 1999 - The Business Community's Suicidal Impulse by Milton Friedman (includes criticism of the antitrust case against Microsoft)
• Free Market Predators vs. Well-meaning Reformers