Microsoft appealed to the US Supreme Court yesterday to overturn a ruling that the software giant is an illegal monopoly that has harmed consumers and stifled competition.
Microsoft sent the petition to the high court two days before the case was to be sent to a new judge to decide what penalty the Redmond, Washington firm should face.
"Simultaneously, Microsoft asked the appeals court that currently has the case to hold off any action until the Supreme Court decides whether to take the case," company spokesman Mr Vivek Varma said.
A federal appeals court in June threw out a US District Court judge's order breaking the company in two, saying a new lower court judge should hold hearings to fashion a punishment, which could still include a breakup.
In its Supreme Court appeal, Microsoft again takes up the question of whether District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson was biased against the company. It says his entire ruling should be thrown out because the appeals court found that he violated the judicial ethics code.
"On that basis, Microsoft argues that the district judge should have been disqualified from any further role in the case as of the time the earliest violation occurred," Microsoft told the court. The appeals court strongly condemned Jackson's actions, but said that nevertheless Microsoft still acted as an illegal monopoly.
"The Supreme Court's review of the disqualification issue is important to restoring public confidence in the integrity of the judicial system," Microsoft argues.
Last week, the appeals court turned down Microsoft's request to reconsider one of the court's key findings, that the software maker illegally combined its Windows operating system with its Web browser. That ruling could jeopardise Microsoft's new operating system, Windows XP, because it includes many more programs that had previously been sold separately.
This is the second time the highest US court will consider whether to take up Microsoft's anti-trust case. After the company appealed Judge Jackson's ruling last year, the Justice Department wanted a fast track straight to the Supreme Court, bypassing the appeals court. Microsoft objected, and the justices denied the government request in September.
AP