Microsoft antitrust ruling faces appeal

Officials representing the US state of Massachusetts said on Friday they will appeal a recent ruling in Microsoft's long-running antitrust case, while seven other states intend to drop their opposition.

"We are going to appeal," state attorney general Tom Reilly said on Friday during a conference call. "This appeal is necessary to protect consumers."

Massachusetts delivered its decision ahead of a Monday deadline. The nine plaintiff states have 30 days from US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly's 1 October ruling to decide whether to file an appeal.

But Massachusetts is not being supported by most of the other states that have previously criticised the settlement as inadequate. "We are going it alone," Reilly said.

The District of Columbia and nine other states - California, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Utah and West Virginia - had rejected a November 2001 settlement Microsoft cut with the Justice Department and nine other states.

In a Friday statement, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said: "Seven states and the District of Columbia will not appeal Judge Kollar-Kotelly's decree in the Microsoft antitrust case. We will move on to enforcing the decree on behalf of consumers and fair competition.

"For most of our states, it is time to dedicate our resources to enforcement of the decree and the law," Miller said.

West Virginia officials are expected reach a decision on whether to join Massachusetts today.

In making its decision to appeal, Massachusetts is focusing on accountability. Reilly said he wanted to send the message that "breaking the law does not pay".

The Massachusetts attorney general noted that Microsoft had been found guilty of violating US antitrust laws, and he described the remedy and separate settlement as being filled with "loopholes".

A Microsoft spokesman said the company's "focus remains on complying fully with the court's judgment, working collaboratively with governments to address important public-policy issues and on developing innovative products that will benefit consumers".

Meanwhile, the Redmond-based company faces other legal challenges. A three-day hearing next week in Baltimore will determine whether Microsoft will be compelled to carry Sun Microsystems' version of the Java Virtual Machine in Windows XP. Sun has filed a request for preliminary injunction on the matter, as part of a larger lawsuit against Microsoft.

Meanwhile, the European Union's Competition Commission is expected to soon issue a preliminary ruling in a separate antitrust investigation pending against Microsoft.

Joe Wilcox writes for News.com