ALBANY – State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer last night called the federal court ruling against Microsoft a “a major victory for consumers” and free enterprise.
Spitzer, who joined the antitrust suit against Bill Gates’ mega-corporation, said the ruling “clearly confirms” the Justice Department’s position that Microsoft exploited its monopoly, stripped consumers of their right to choose and dominated a key sector of the economy.
“While this is not a final decision, it is a major victory for consumers, competitors and innovation,” said Spitzer, who inherited the case from his predecessor, Dennis Vacco.
“We are pleased that our case can move forward, and we are confident we will prevail.”
Spitzer, joining other state attorneys general in a national conference call with journalists, also termed the federal court ruling “a clean sweep from the perspective of what we presented at the trial.”
“There’s no question that the fundamental thrust of our case – that Microsoft had a monopoly and abused that monopoly – was accepted by the judge,” Spitzer said.
“Consumers have been harmed substantially, not only in terms of price and the availability of product but because other competitors have been squeezed out of this market.”
Spitzer, along with the attorneys general of Iowa, Connecticut and Illinois, were lead plaintiffs with the U.S. Justice Department in what is widely regarded as a landmark digital-age suit which may affect the course of computer-software development for decades to come. Nineteen states eventually joined the suit.