Microsoft Submits Evidence Against Rivals

Microsoft Corp. gave a federal judge new documents that it said backed up earlier claims that two key rivals attempted to collude on Internet technologies. A lawyer for the Justice Department, which has brought Microsoft to court on antitrust charges, countered that the two firms, America Online Inc. and Netscape Communications Corp., simply were trying to create “a more level playing field” for competition with Microsoft. Microsoft’s lead attorney produced a January 1996 memo from AOL President Steve Case detailing a conversation he had with James Barksdale, Netscape’s chief executive. At the time, Case and Barksdale had been discussing a deal in which AOL would use Netscape’s Internet “browsing” software. Microsoft contends that Case was concerned at the same time that Netscape could begin competing with AOL. As a way of assuring that the companies stayed out of each other’s way, Microsoft said, Case proposed in one meeting that AOL might get a seat on Netscape’s board. Ultimately, the relationship between AOL and Netscape never became very serious because AOL decided to include Microsoft’s browser in its software instead of Netscape’s.