The dispute dates back to an antitrust investigation into the
software giant in the 1990's, which culminated in 2002 in a
landmark settlement between Microsoft, the US Justice Department
and several states.
During the case, the court found that Gateway's business had
been hurt by Microsoft's actions.
Under the statute of limitations, the time period for Gateway
to bring claims against Microsoft based on this finding expired in
late 2003, but the two firms entered into an agreement to extend
the period so they could explore an approach that would serve their
mutual business and customer interests.
A recent mediation between the parties led to yesterday's
announcement.
"We're pleased to put these legacy legal issues behind us,"
said Wayne Inouye, Gateway's president and CEO. "We look forward to
even greater collaboration with Microsoft going forward as we work
together towards the future of computing."
Rodrigo Costa, OEM corporate vice president, Microsoft, added,
"We are very pleased to be able to resolve our past differences in
a constructive manner that will allow us to continue our focus on
the interests of our mutual customers."
The settlement follows earlier agreements between Microsoft
and Burst.com, Novell, Sun Microsystems and various States, as the
software giant begins to free itself from the inconvenience of
numerous antitrust lawsuits.
Most of these disputes have now been resolved, although
Microsoft still faces action from Real Networks Inc. and is in the
process of appealing sanctions imposed by the European
Commission.
