Microsoft Judge Shouldn’t Delay
U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson holds a hearing today to determine when to impose “remedies” aimed at preventing Microsoft from illegally using its monopoly power to eliminate software rivals. Swift, well-tailored remedies are essential because Microsoft founder Bill Gates’ new initiative, Next Generation Windows Services, could become a gorilla monopoly in consumer electronics that would make previous Microsoft monopolies pale by comparison.
Jackson is expected to consider the reasonable objections brought against the Justice Department’s sweeping, wrongheaded “structural remedy,” which would cleave the software giant into two companies. Those objections include a brief that Microsoft unexpectedly filed Monday, pointing out that five years ago Justice officials argued that breaking up the company would harm the public interest. While Jackson will need time to evaluate the potential economic impact of the Justice proposal, he should deny Microsoft’s request to delay his ruling by a full half-year.
Jackson can and should require Microsoft to implement less radical “conduct remedies” now. He should begin by imposing changes that Microsoft itself agreed to during unsuccessful settlement talks a few weeks ago: offering equal contracts to computer makers, whether or not they use the software of rivals; loosening the ability of computer makers to alter the look and feel of Windows, and making it easier for independent software developers to write programs for Windows. Microsoft’s actual conduct toward computer makers has remained as monopolist as ever. Unless the company shows Jackson it is capable of and willing to change, the judge may be forced to act more harshly.
At stake for Microsoft with Next Generation is a family of Internet applications that work exclusively with Windows, extending from big corporate computer servers to desktop PCs, palmtop computers and Internet mobile phones. The court’s aim should be to ensure that Microsoft does not unfairly quash similar initiatives now being attempted by four rivals, Sun Microsystems, Oracle Corp., VA Linux Systems Inc. and IBM.
Microsoft says that Next Generation will cost as much as “NASA’s first mission to the moon.” If that’s true, the software giant should be lobbying Jackson to hasten, rather than delay, the trial, for by all accounts it is troubling the investors whose confidence Microsoft needs to make its initiative fly.
