The American government will likely ask Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson to
split Microsoft into two companies on Friday, April 28, the due date for
government’s remedy proposal for the landmark antitrust trial. On April
3, Jackson found that the company repeatedly and deliberately violated
U.S. laws designed to maintain competition in economic markets.
If Microsoft splits into two companies, it is expected that one of the
companies will be allowed to sell Microsoft’s operating system, Windows,
while the other company would sell Microsoft’s software “applications”
that run in the Window environment, such as Word.
But sources who have worked closely with the government on the case say
it is possible that any company born as a result of the breakup would be
allowed to sell the Windows operating system, creating competition in a
market in which Jackson found that Microsoft currently has monopoly
power.
Microsoft officials have repeatedly denounced the idea of a breakup as
completely unacceptable.
Representatives of the company continue to insist that they have not
broken the law, but if any remedy were to be imposed, they argue, it
should be a “conduct” remedy, essentially a judicial admonition to
cease engaging in specific behavior the court finds unacceptable.
Microsoft officials have promised a vigorous appeal of Jackson’s
decision and the appeals process could take from two to six years. A
breakup would likely not go into effect until after the appeals process
is completed, but the government is likely to ask the courts to impose
restrictions on Microsoft’s behavior in the meantime.
The company is due to respond to the government’s proposed remedies by
May 10, but will likely ask Judge Jackson for a delay, a request Jackson
will likely deny. Jackson will hold a hearing on the subject of remedies
in his courtroom May 24 and will likely issue his decision several weeks
later.
