Just when you thought Microsoft might have been nearing the end of a long series of antitrust suits, another one surfaces with RealNetworks' accusation that the software giant illegally used its Windows monopoly to limit consumer choice in digital media.
That same monopoly has been at the root of lawsuits by the federal government, many of the states, the European Union and several private companies, including Sun Microsystems, Be, and Time Warner's Netscape subsidiary. Although most of the settlements have been largely favourable to Microsoft, the lawsuits soaked up resources and bandwidth, not to mention tarring the company as a monopolist.
Ironically, though the Windows monopoly has been the motor of Microsoft's stunning financial success, it has also gotten the company up to its neck in legal hot water over the years.
The Windows operating system has become the centrepiece of Microsoft's technology strategy -- for everything from the company's relatively late move into the Internet to more recent forays into music and streaming video and audio.
But rivals have long bridled at Microsoft's habit of incorporating new features into Windows that were previously supplied by standalone applications. Microsoft contends that the development of Windows reflects technology improvements that make it easier for customers to operate their computers.
This is less an argument over setting digital boundaries than about the measures Microsoft must take to protect its crown jewels.
The dizzying array of lawsuits against Microsoft include:
Under terms of the trial judge's order in November 2002, Microsoft agreed to give computer makers more flexibility in configuring Windows and to share more details about Windows' inner workings with other software makers. In November of this year, a federal appeals court took up the case yet again, hearing testimony on whether the remedies imposed on Microsoft have been effective. The court's ruling on whether to approve the order or toss it out in favour of harsher penalties is pending.
