Friday marks the third anniversary of the date that the software maker officially became a defendant in what has become one of the most important cases in the history of U.S. antitrust law. But Jackson's decision only set off more legal noise in the industry, including Microsoft's appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia, which is set to decide on the case any day. The decision also gave footing to a number of private lawsuits against the software giant and an inquiry by the European Commission over similar anticompetitive practices.
Legal experts say the case has set a new precedent for the concept of judicial time.
While the federal case against Microsoft has been swift for a legal matter, it has seemed like eons for the software industry. Microsoft's .Net initiative, Xbox video game console, wireless and mobile devices, and version upgrades to Windows and the Office desktop software suite all continue to make headlines. Our belief is that this industry is, and remains, very dynamic. We see competition continuing today just as it was yesterday and just as it was three years ago. With the market power it wielded, the government says, Microsoft forced PC manufacturers and distributors to bundle its Internet Explorer browser with Windows, illegally putting a halt to the momentum of Netscape Communications Corp., which was winning wide industry support with its Navigator Web browser.