Реферат: Micro Soft

Table 1

Trial Timeline

Date of Event: Important Details:

Oct. 20, 1997

The Justice Department sues Microsoft, asserting that the company violated a 1995 court order and consent decree resolving an earlier government lawsuit against Microsoft. The government asks for a record $1 million per day in fines.

Dec. 11, 1997

U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson orders Microsoft to stop requiring computer makers to distribute Internet Explorer with its 95 operating software. The ruling also applies to the upcoming Windows 98 program, in which IE is even more integrated with the operating software.

Dec. 15, 1997

Microsoft files an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals. The company argues that it was an error for the court to forbid Microsoft from bundling IE 4.0 with Win95 after denying the Justice Department’s claim that Microsoft violated the 1995 consent decree. Microsoft says it will comply with the injunction while it is on appeal.

Jan. 8, 1998

Microsoft executives express regret for the company’s harsh rhetoric against the Justice Department and say the software giant should have been more respectful of the court and prosecutors. (In an ABCNEWS.com poll on Jan. 9, 72% of the 2,500 respondents believed that Microsoft had been disrespectful to the Justice Department and the court.)

Jan. 22, 1998

Microsoft and the Justice Department settle their dispute. Microsoft agrees to offer an IE-free Windows.

May 5, 1998

Microsoft asks a federal appeals court to rule that Judge Jackson’s Dec. 11 preliminary injunction imposing restrictions on Windows 95 “or any successor” do not apply to Windows 98.

May 18, 1998

The Justice Department and 20 state attorneys general sue Microsoft for antitrust violations, including tying the browser to the operating system and using anti-competitive contracts with computer makers and Internet service providers (ISPs).

June 23, 1998

The U.S. Court of Appeals reverses the lower court’s decision in the Windows 95 consent decree case, allowing Microsoft to ship Windows 95 with browsers.

Aug. 31, 1998

In response to a routine filing by Microsoft, the DOJ makes its first references to Microsoft’s business dealings with other companies, including Apple, Intel, Sun Microsystems and Caldera.

Oct. 19, 1998

After a number of delays, the case of U.S. vs. Microsoft begins in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. Then-Netscape CEO Jim Barksdale is the government’s first witness.

Nov. 17, 1998

In a separate court case, Sun Microsystems wins a preliminary injunction against Microsoft, forcing Microsoft to stop producing and distributing Java technologies that don’t comply with Sun’s standards. Decisions in this and other antitrust cases involving Microsoft could affect the federal case.

June 1, 1999

With no word of any possible settlement forthcoming, both sides are expected back in court on this date to present rebuttal witnesses and closing arguments.

June 2, 1999

Microsoft began defending itself in a federal court in Connecticut against Bristol Technologies, which claims antitrust violations after Microsoft refused to license Windows source code to Bristol. An antitrust suit by Caldera, filed in 1996, also began this month.