Microsoft to Release Altered Windows 98 to Satisfy Court

Microsoft Corp. will release modified versions of its Windows 98 operating system and other software to comply with a court order in a civil lawsuit, though the world’s leading software company still might appeal the ruling, company executives said Friday.

Microsoft said the changes would have no impact on customers, nor would they affect products that already have been shipped.

A federal judge Tuesday ordered Microsoft to make changes in the Java technology included in some of its software, ruling that Sun Microsystems Inc. was likely to prevail in a lawsuit over the programming language.

Tom Burt, associate general counsel for Microsoft, said that while the company would comply with the preliminary injunction, executives had 30 days to file any appeal and had not yet decided whether to do so.

U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte had given Microsoft 90 days to comply with the ruling but said the company could seek an extension if needed.

Also Friday, Japanese trade regulators slapped Microsoft with a warning after ruling the company engaged in unfair business practices that violated the nation’s anti-monopoly laws.

The decision does not affect Microsoft’s high-profile anti-trust case in the United States, but adds to criticism that the company’s marketing strategies unduly squeeze competitors.

Japan’s Fair Trade Commission ruled Microsoft attempted to unfairly restrict competitors’ access to the market by bundling word-processing and spreadsheet software that was pre-installed in personal computers, said FTC spokesman Kanichiro Nakanishi.

Microsoft Co., the wholly owned Japanese subsidiary of Microsoft Corp., issued a statement in Tokyo on Friday saying it had already voluntarily stopped the practices cited.