Microsoft Antitrust Compliance Gripes Focus on Servers
Complaints about Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) compliance with a landmark 2001 antitrust settlement have focussed on the ability of competing software to work with Microsoft network server software.
The Justice Department and state attorneys general have "identified numerous concerns" regarding a requirement that Microsoft license certain communications protocols, according to a court-ordered report. Those protocols enable competing "middleware" like Web browsers or media players to work as seamlessly with Microsoft servers as Microsoft's own products.
The government has complained that Microsoft hasn't licensed the communications protocols on reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms, the report said. While Microsoft has improved its performances, the government plaintiffs "recognize that further steps may need to be taken, either pursuant to agreement or order of the court, to account for Microsoft's delayed implementation."
The report is written jointly by Microsoft, the Justice Department, nine states that signed onto the November 2001 settlement and nine states led by California that fought for a tougher settlement and lost. It was ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly , who had pushed for and accepted the settlement but warned Microsoft she would closely monitor compliance.
Microsoft had grudgingly accepted the server provisions in the settlement, saying they were beyond the scope of the original lawsuit brought by the government in 1998. The Justice Department touted the provisions as evidence of a settlement that addressed a changing market, attempting to rebut criticism that the settlement was a giveaway to Microsoft.
The majority of 18 substantive complaints to the Justice Department about Microsoft's compliance with the settlement focussed on the communications protocols. Some concerned the terms, royalties and cost of the software licenses, while others addressed a non-disclosure agreement, which Microsoft has since eliminated, the report said.
The California-led states have received 14 similar complaints.
Microsoft in April had agreed to substantially revise the terms of the communications protocol software licenses and to eliminate the nondisclosure agreements. Microsoft critic Ed Black of the Computer and Communications Industry Association said the fact that the government now raises the possibility of seeking a court order was revealing.
"The fact that even this Justice Department, which has been in Microsoft's pocket, has to make a statement like that shows we've got a real recalcitrant company here," Black said.
But one government official noted that much of the 31-page report showed that Microsoft is in compliance with the settlement. The report was crafted with the consent of the most critical group of states, the California contingent.
Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler said compliance with the server software provisions "is an ongoing process. It's a complex and unprecedented program. We are committed to full compliance, and to making the consent decree a success."
Overall, the report showed that "Microsoft's compliance is being closely monitored, the consent decree is being thoroughly enforced, and that there is a high degree of cooperation between the parties," Desler said.
Judge Kollar-Kotelly has scheduled a July 24 status conference to review the report.
微软被控遵守反垄断和解协议不力
微软(Microsoft Corp., MSFT)不断受到指控，称该公司没有遵守2001年达成的具有里程碑意义的反垄断和解。指控主要集中在微软的网络伺服器软件与竞争对手软件的兼容性问题上。
一份法院报告表明，美国司法部(Justice Department)和各州司法部长接到大量投诉，均与上述和解协议中要求微软对某些通信协议实施许可的规定有关。这些协议能使竞争对手的浏览器或媒体播放器等产品与微软伺服器的兼容性可与微软自己的产品相媲美。
该报告称，美国政府指控微软为这些通信协议制定的许可条款不合理且具歧视性。政府认为，虽然微软的表现有所改善，但它对和解协议和法庭命令的执行仍不到位，还需作出进一步的努力。
这份报告是由微软、司法部、2001年签署和解协议的9个州，以及以加州为首的要求和解应更为严厉但没有成功的9个州联合出具的。联邦地区法院法官Colleen Kollar-Kotelly下令撰写了此报告。她推动并接受了和解，但同时警告微软，将会密切监督该公司遵守和解协议的情况。
