Microsoft, the Justice Department and 18 states submitted their joint status report yesterday – and there is plenty of disagreement on the issues that remain before the court.
The parties have a basic dispute about the scope of the remedy, in their proposals to the new judge in the case, Colleen Kollar-Kotelly. The Justice Department wants to model it on Judge Jackson’s conclusions, while Microsoft is saying two thirds of that was thrown out on appeal.
The government said it wasn’t the remedy hearing to begin by Feb. 4, 2002. Microsoft wants a later, unspecified date, saying it can’t schedule discovery and other procedures until the court knows what sort of relief can be considered. Bob Lande, a University of Baltimore law professor, said, “They’re playing their roles. As expected, Microsoft is trying to delay and complicate matters, and the DOJ is trying to speed them along.”
Lande pointed out that the February date for a remedy hearing looked a little far off. Yesterday’s joint status report was delayed twice due to last week’s tragic attacks in New York and Washington, and this may have extended the timetable.
“February seems like a long way off, but how much work did anyone get done in the last week?”
He believes the government is trying to make sure the remedy is forward-looking, and to do that it must take into account the market over the next six months – a market in which all bets are now off: “It all hinges on whether Microsoft will be able to sell a lot of copies of Windows XP in the next few months.”
George Mason University Professor Ernest Gellhorn said, “I’m surprised the government is prepared to go along at such a languid pace. We’re not looking for a resolution until spring, at the earliest.”
Gellhorn said the delay means “The government has frozen itself out from any practical relief against Windows XP.” The two parties also ruled out getting help from a mediator. Chicago’s Judge Posner was brought in to the case at the end of 1999 in such a role, to no avail. If they settle, they will work it out by themselves.
Day 34
Countdown to world
Just 34 days ’til the release of Windows XP, but Microsoft has plenty to think about. Yesterday’s developments:
In a joint status report, Microsoft and the government showed they don’t see eye to eye on the timing and scope of the next phase of the trail.
Microsoft said it would open up its Passport authentication service to work with similar programs by rivals such as AOL, Sun and IBM.
Microsoft embraced Kerberos, an authentication service developed at MIT, which is considered an industry standard.