Gates May Consider Resolving Complaints

WASHINGTON -- Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said Thursday that he may consider making changes to the software giant’s licensing practices if they are necessary to bring its 4-year-old legal battle with federal antitrust enforcers to a close.

Gates’ unusually accommodating remarks came after the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that the Justice Department is looking into complaints that Microsoft may be violating provisions of a proposed settlement with the government by withholding details about its flagship Windows operating system from Sun Microsystems Inc., Red Hat Inc. and other competitors.

The inquiry centers on whether Microsoft is using unduly restrictive agreements to limit the amount of technical information it shares with rivals, preventing them from creating software that works as well with Windows as Microsoft’s products. Windows runs on more than 90% of all personal computers. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly is expected to rule on the settlement any day.

In an interview, Gates characterized the Justice Department’s examination as routine and said it posed no serious threat to the company or the year-old tentative agreement. Gates added, however, that he is open-minded about adjusting Microsoft’s business practices to resolve any complaints if the Justice Department insists.

“What you have here is a very predictable event,” Gates said. “A competitor has an appointment to meet with the Justice Department” to complain about the nondisclosure agreements, or NDAs, he said.

“Obviously, we’ve talked through with Justice what the NDAs are,” Gates said. “All of that was crafted as part of an ongoing dialogue.”

Under the terms of the Justice Department settlement, Microsoft was required to make some technical disclosures through licensing agreements, but there were few guidelines on the terms of those licenses.

Analysts said both Microsoft and federal authorities were motivated to preserve the settlement. That would explain why the sometimes defiant Gates would be open to further negotiations.

But Ken Wasch, a Microsoft critic who heads the Software and Industry Information Assn. in Washington, said the provisions in the nondisclosure agreements indicate that Microsoft hasn’t changed its behavior.

“There is no one in the industry who believes the competitive landscape has changed one iota,” Wasch said.

In Nasdaq trading, Microsoft shares fell $1.97 to $51.23.