Following objections by various US states to the settlement
terms proposed by Microsoft and the US Department of Justice in the
long-running antitrust battle, the presiding judge has given
objecting states until 22nd February 2002 to file new motions to
continue their battle against the company.
According to Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, the case will be
split into two “tracks”. The deal reached between Microsoft and the
US department of Justice will now continue down “Track One” while
the dispute with objecting states will form “Track Two.”
Under Track One, the Department of Justice will be given until
Thursday of this week to file a proposed final judgment. This will
then be open to public consultation and, if it is agreed that no
further hearing is needed on the final judgment, this half of the
battle will be concluded.
