RealNetworks Alleges Bullying by Microsoft
An executive of RealNetworks Inc. accused Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday of bullying computer makers and withholding key technical information in a bid to cripple RealNetworks’ competing audio and video player.
In written testimony to U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, RealNetworks Vice President R. David Richards said that as recently as last year, Microsoft delayed turning over technical details needed to make the RealNetworks’ multimedia player work reliably with the Windows operating system.
Richards also wrote that Microsoft threatened not to license some of its products to tech heavyweights IBM Corp., Compaq Computer Corp., America Online Inc. and others unless they agreed to drop RealNetworks’ software products.
Microsoft lawyer Richard Pepperman challenged the accusations in a daylong cross-examination of Richards.
Richards acknowledged that RealNetworks’ share of the multimedia market has grown rapidly despite Microsoft’s alleged tactics. He also said RealNetworks has struck as many as 39 exclusive licensing deals with PC makers that potentially restricted Microsoft’s competing multimedia software.
Meanwhile, other potentially damaging testimony from Richards was struck down as irrelevant or hearsay by Kollar-Kotelly.
The judge excluded at least 13 of 220 paragraphs in Richards’ 90 pages of written testimony. She also rejected a June 16, 2001, e-mail submitted by the states in which AOL Chief Executive Barry Schuler said Microsoft was trying to force AOL to drop RealNetworks products.
They “want to kill you guys so badly, it is ugly,” Schuler wrote to RealNetworks executives.
Kollar-Kotelly said she excluded the testimony because Richards didn’t have direct knowledge of the claims and was simply repeating the conversations of others. Because Schuler was not called as a witness to confirm the e-mail, the document was inadmissible, the judge said.
Richards was the third witness called by the District of Columbia and a group of nine states seeking tougher punishment of Microsoft for being found guilty of federal antitrust violations in June 2000.
The states have rejected a proposed settlement formally presented to Kollar-Kotelly earlier this month by the Justice Department and nine other states.
