Appeals Court Favors Microsoft
Microsoft Corp. won't have to include Java software from rival Sun Microsystems Inc. in its Windows operating system after all.
A federal appeals court overturned a preliminary injunction issued last year that would have required Microsoft to include the Java programming language in Windows and in its Internet Explorer software. The ruling was another victory for the Redmond, Wash., software powerhouse in its efforts to put its legal problems behind it.
The three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, Va., gave Sun a small victory by upholding a second preliminary injunction stopping Microsoft from distributing products that infringe Sun's copyright of Java. Sun had alleged Microsoft had distributed Java without a license.
The ruling is a step in the long-running struggle between the companies over Java, a Sun technology that can be used to write programs that run on many kinds of computers. In granting the two preliminary injunctions in December, U.S. District Court Judge J. Frederick Motz in Baltimore said they were necessary in insuring Sun's efforts to create a market for Java without interference from Microsoft.
The decision Thursday tipped in Microsoft's favor since the company is discontinuing distribution of its own Java anyway. It was a blow to Sun , which sought widespread distribution of Java pending the outcome of a private antitrust case alleging that Microsoft crippled Java through anticompetitive tactics.
Now Microsoft won't be forced to make Java available with its software, which powers most of the world's personal computers.
The software giant in recent months has settled several lawsuits, agreeing, for instance, earlier this month to pay $750 million to settle a private antitrust suit with AOL Time Warner Inc.
The district court "was unable to find immediate irreparable harm" to Sun , Appeals Court Judge Paul Niemeyer wrote for the majority. He also wrote that the earlier ruling requiring Microsoft to distribute Sun's Java won't affect Sun's broader antitrust claims.
The panel kicked the case back to Judge Motz for further proceedings. Sun expects the case to go to trial in 2005.
Sun executives attempted to put a good face on the court's decision by applauding the panel's decision to uphold the earlier ruling that prevents Microsoft from distributing its own version of Java.
Rich Green, Sun's vice president, developer platforms, said Sun expects the ruling to drive more personal-computer makers to license Java from Sun . "There is work under way already with a very large number [of computer makers] to secure licenses," he said.
微软无需在视窗系统中嵌入SUN公司Java软件
美国一家联邦上诉法院宣布对微软的初步禁令无效，这一禁令将迫使微软(Microsoft Corp., MSFT)在它的视窗操作系统软件中加入其主要竞争对手Sun电子计算机公司(Sun Microsystems Inc., SUNW, 又名：升阳微电脑)的Java软件。
但是法院维持了另一项初步禁令，即禁止微软在视窗操作系统软件使用自己的Java软件。
美国巴尔的摩地区法院法官Frederick Motz今年1月份正式发布命令，要求微软在其操作系统中配备Java的升级版本。随后微软向联邦上诉法院提出请求，希望能批准暂缓执行Motz的命令。
联邦上诉法院的判决有利于微软，因为该公司原本也打算不再推广自己的Java软件。但这对Sun电子计算机公司来说是个打击，因为该公司希望在其针对微软提出的反垄断诉讼结果出来后，可以广泛销售Java。这一反垄断案件指控微软通过反竞争手段削弱Java的竞争力。
弗吉尼亚州里士满联邦上诉法院第四巡回法院由3个法官组成的审判团一致同意，将此案交回给巴尔的摩联邦地区法院的J. Frederick Motz法官做进一步审理。
上诉法院法官Paul Niemeyer表示，地区法院没有发现Sun电子计算机公司受到无法挽回的直接伤害。同时，因为Motz所颁布的要求微软使用Java的初步禁令，无助于法院对Sun电子计算机公司在个人电脑操作系统垄断的指控中所承受的损失作出最终判断，因此驳回该禁令。
但对于禁止微软使用自己Java软件的禁令，地区法院对Sun电子计算机公司给予微软的授权范围的解释是正确的，在颁布禁令时，地区法院也作出了准确的判断。
Sun电子计算机公司负责法律事务的副总裁Lee Patch表示，该公司对上诉法院今天的判决非常满意。该判决维持了侵犯版权的禁令。法院的决定表明，微软违反了早些时候就Java软件所达成的司法和解，微软这样做是在继续破坏Java作为一种平台在个人电脑上的应用。
然而，Patch表示，Sun电子计算机公司对法院没有维持微软必须在视窗操作系统中添加该公司Java软件的禁令感到失望。但他称，上诉法院接受了地区法院认为微软有反竞争行为的判决。公司同时期待，当它对微软提起反垄断全面诉讼时，上诉法院今天的判决将有助于法院迅速作出判决，并且有机会更全面地查处微软的反竞争做法和其他重大违法行为。
微软发言人Jim Desler称，公司对周四的判决感到满意，这是旷日持久的法律程序中向前迈出的又一步，公司认为这是积极的一步。
Desler还称，这是一项漫长的法律程序，微软的注意力一直是超越两家公司之间的冲突，并与同行业的公司进行合作；尽管如此，微软与Sun电子计算机公司之间的法律纠纷还在继续。
预计对Sun电子计算机公司针对微软提出的反垄断案的审理一直要到2005年才会进行。
