A US federal appeals court has sent Microsoft's antitrust case back to a lower court to determine what should be done to prevent any further abuse of its monopoly in PC operating systems.
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said on its website that it had issued the mandate sending the case back to the District Court.
The District Court is expected to randomly assign the case to one of about a dozen judges sometime later today, setting the stage for hearings as early as next month.
The new judge is tasked with holding hearings on what remedies should be imposed to prevent any further abuse of Microsoft's monopoly in personal computer operating systems. He or she must also decide whether Microsoft violated antitrust laws by tying its Internet Explorer browser into the Windows operating system.
