This week, a federal judge in Washington, D.C. ordered Microsoft to comply with court supervision for another two years, relating to its settlement in a major antitrust case. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly extended the court's supervision through Nov. 12, 2009. She ruled that the terms of a 2002 settlement had not fully taken effect. Microsoft has been required to document information on communication protocols, making it easier for other software manufacturers to create products that work well with the Windows OS.
The issue has been a sticking point between the company and the government. Microsoft has been ordered to rewrite the documentation. In her ruling, Kollar-Kotelly blamed Microsoft. "Although the technical documentation project is complex and novel, it is clear, at least to the court, that Microsoft is culpable for this inexcusable delay," she wrote. However, she said the company had been "overwhelmingly cooperative" since the antitrust settlement, and that this latest extension should not be viewed as a sanction. Microsoft will continue to comply with the antitrust ruling and has built its latest operating system, Vista, to comply with the rules, the company said.
For more on Microsoft:
- Check out this Washington Post article
