Word: microsoft
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Meanwhile, Microsoft has been flexing its political muscle in new ways to help its cause. It recently asked Congress to cut the Clinton Administration's proposed budget for the Antitrust Division about $9 million. Klein is in no danger of running out of paper to write his appellate briefs, but it showed that Microsoft was ready to play hardball. Microsoft has also formed the so-called Freedom to Innovate network, a "nonpartisan, grass-roots network of citizens and businesses" that happens to reside on the company's website. And it has undertaken an aggressive state-level lobbying campaign--mindful, perhaps...
...suit of its own earlier this year by striking a quiet deal with the Federal Trade Commission in which it agreed to share more information about its processors with other companies. But despite a few stabs at working it out--including a round of quiet talks during the trial--Microsoft and Justice haven't been able to get started. The sharpness of last week's ruling could force both parties to dig in their heels...
Then there's the appeal process. "Microsoft gets friendlier audiences from here on," notes Kovacic. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which would review Jackson's decision and remedy orders, is the same one that slapped the judge down last year when he ordered Microsoft to offer Windows 95 without the Internet Explorer browser. The Supreme Court is more of a wild card, but its current pro-business tilt suggests the government may get a skeptical hearing. But neither is likely to overturn Jackson's findings of fact...
...fact is, United States v. Microsoft does have an ideology behind it. At some level, it's a return to the good old days of trust busting, something scarcely seen in the U.S. since the government's case against IBM sputtered out in the early 1980s. Emboldened by Judge Jackson's ruling, the Antitrust Division could soon be prowling for more high-profile, high-tech targets...
...lawsuits like this good for the country? To Microsoft's defenders, the answer could hardly be more self-evident. Bill Gates drops out of college to found a little start-up that, by his 44th birthday, has grown into the most valuable company in the world. His success ensures that the U.S. is in the forefront of a global technological revolution, and he produces a product admired and used by millions. His reward for living the American Dream? Some smart Washington lawyers try to brand him a lawbreaker...