Microsoft's anti-trust settlement endorsed

A US federal judge has endorsed all of the anti-trust settlement that Microsoft reached with the Justice Department last year. Sources said US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly had rejected the alternative demands of nine states opposed to the settlement.

In June 2001, an appeals court upheld trial court findings that Microsoft had illegally maintained its Windows monopoly in personal computer operating systems.

There was no immediate word on whether the nine states, which had rejected the settlement of the over four-year-old case as ineffective, would appeal Judge Kollar-Kotelly's decision.

Under a proposed deal signed last year with the US Department of Justice, the global software giant would be forced to restrict some business practices in exchange for an end to the anti-trust case.

The holdout states wanted Microsoft to offer a stripped-down version of its Windows operating system to give access to competing "middleware" such as internet browsers and media players.

The original suit included charges that Microsoft had used its Windows program to promote its internet Explorer software over a rival browser made by Netscape, now part of the AOL Time Warner online and media empire.

The appeals court in June 2001 upheld trial court findings that Microsoft had illegally maintained its Windows operating system monopoly but rejected breaking the company in two.

The case was then transferred to Judge Kollar-Kotelly to determine the appropriate remedies in the case. Microsoft reached the settlement with the Justice Department and nine states in November 2001 after Judge Kollar-Kotelly urged the parties to reach an agreement.

The settlement gives computer makers greater freedom to feature rival software on their machines by allowing them to hide some Microsoft icons on the Windows desktop. Microsoft would be prohibited from retaliating under the settlement against those who choose non-Microsoft products. Nor could it enter into agreements that require the exclusive support of some Microsoft software.

Under the proposed settlement, Windows would be sold under a standard licence to the major computer makers, although discounts would still be allowed according to the volume of the order.

Microsoft employs about 1,800 people in Dublin. The company set up its Irish facility in 1988 and operates its European operations centre in Sandyford.

(additional reporting by Reuters)