Microsoft Gets to Ship Java, for Now

A federal appeals panel handed Microsoft Corp. what is likely to be a temporary victory in its fierce battle with Sun Microsystems Inc. over control of Sun’s Java programming language, throwing out a preliminary injunction that prevented Microsoft from shipping its own favored version of Java.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled Monday that although Sun is likely to win its underlying case against Microsoft at trial, a lower judge erred in issuing the pretrial injunction in November.

The injunction barred Microsoft from distributing versions of Java that run better on its Windows operating systems than on other operating systems.

Microsoft sees Sun’s Java as a threat because Java programs are designed to run on any system, and evidence gathered in Sun’s lawsuit shows that Microsoft sought to “pollute” Java by making it run best on Microsoft systems.

But Microsoft doesn’t plan to return to distributing just its own version as a result of the ruling, said spokesman Adam Sohn. “It’s a positive step in what’s clearly a long case. We continue to believe Microsoft lived up to all its obligations.”

Sun argues that the software giant broke its 1996 licensing agreement with Sun by distorting the Java language, while Microsoft says the contracts do not forbid such modifications.

Many large technology companies are rooting for Sun, believing that if Java language becomes too splintered in its adaptations, Java will cease to become a force to rival Microsoft’s stranglehold with its Windows operating systems.

But some companies complain that Palo Alto-based Sun has kept excessive control over Java’s evolution and dragged its heels in submitting oversight to an international standards group.

Sun attorney Lloyd Day said Sun was “deeply gratified” that the appeals court sided with U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte in San Jose on the underlying merits of its case.

“We agree with Sun that significant evidence supports the District Court’s holding that Sun is likely to prevail on its interpretation of the language of the agreement and to prove that Microsoft’s conduct violated it,” 9th Circuit Judge Mary Schroeder wrote for the court.

At issue in Monday’s ruling was whether the dispute was closer to a contract fight or a copyright fight. Whyte had found that it was closer to the latter, making an injunction easier for Sun to win.

The appeals judges decided that Whyte should have spelled out his reasoning for finding that the Java dispute is mainly a copyright issue.

Sun officials said they expect that Whyte will do just that because he issued a tentative ruling in May that would give Sun a summary judgment on the copyright fight. Even if Whyte changes course and decides the case is closer to a contract dispute, he could still reissue the Microsoft injunction after finding that the balance of likely harm falls to Sun.