May 1995. Sun formally announces Java, a programming language intended to offer developers the ability to write a program once and have it run on multiple OS platforms ("write once, run anywhere"). Java is initially positioned as a way to create interactive Web applications.

Mar. 1996. Microsoft licenses Java from Sun for five years at a cost of approximately US$3.75 million per year.

Oct. 1997. Sun sues Microsoft for breach of contract and copyright infringement and seeks US$35 million in damages. The main allegation is that Microsoft tampered with the core Java libraries so that some Java applications written with Sun's tools would not work with Microsoft's Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and some Java applications written with Microsoft's tools would not run on non-Microsoft platforms. This, according to Sun, was a deliberate attempt to undercut the multiplatform potential of Java. (The text of Sun's complaint is available online at java.sun.com/lawsuit/complaint.html.)

Oct. 1997. The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) files an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft. The main issue is whether Microsoft may continue to include its Web browser, Internet Explorer (IE), with Windows, but Java is a significant topic of discussion during the case.

Mar. 1998. U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte, who is overseeing the Sun lawsuit, orders Microsoft to remove the Java logo from its products.

Dec. 1998. Sun complains to the European Commission (EC) that Microsoft is withholding information about the protocols Windows clients use to communicate with Windows servers, giving Windows servers an unfair advantage.

Early 1999. In response to further orders from Judge Whyte, Microsoft alters its Java development tools to require developers to specifically choose whether to build Windows-specific applications and issues a patch to its JVM to support Sun's native interface (a mechanism for connecting Java code to platform-specific, or native, code). Meanwhile, rumors surface that Microsoft is working on a new Java-like development language code-named COOL.

June 1999. Sun unveils Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE), a platform for Java-based application servers. J2EE lays out a formal framework for multiple Java development technologies that have already gained widespread use, such as Enterprise Java Beans (EJBs, reusable Java-based components) and Java Server Pages (JSP).

Nov. 1999. U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, who is overseeing the DoJ antitrust case, issues "findings of fact" stating that Microsoft has a monopoly in desktop OSs, and that it took illegal steps in an effort to halt the spread of middleware—including Sun's version of Java—that could have hurt this monopoly. This and subsequent rulings pave the way for Sun's private antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft.

Aug. 2000. Microsoft announces C# (previously known as COOL) and the .NET Framework, a Windows-focused development platform that competes directly against J2EE and incorporates many similar concepts.

Jan. 2001. Sun and Microsoft settle their Oct. 1997 lawsuit: Microsoft pays Sun US$20 million and gains the right to continue shipping current products with the Microsoft version of Java technology for seven more years.

July 2001. An appeals court significantly reduces the scope of Judge Jackson's antitrust ruling and rules that Microsoft was allowed to distribute a JVM that was not fully compatible with Sun's JVM. However, the appeals court agrees with Jackson that Microsoft used illegal tactics to promote its Java development tools.

Dec. 2001. The DoJ settles its antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft. Among other requirements, Microsoft must create a program to license all the communications protocols used by Windows clients to communicate with Windows servers (but not server-to-server protocols).

Mar. 2002. Sun files a private antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft. The suit seeks an immediate injunction that would require Microsoft to ship Sun's JVM in Windows and prohibit Microsoft from distributing a stand-alone version of its own JVM. Sun also reiterates its EC complaint about communications protocols, alleges that .NET copied Java, and argues that Microsoft has a monopoly in desktop productivity applications, among other claims.

Sept. 2002. Microsoft launches the DoJ-mandated Microsoft Communications Protocol Program (MCPP) for licensing server-to-client communications protocols. Over the next 18 months, Sun and others complain that the program is too restrictive and expensive and doesn't offer enough information.

Dec. 2002. Judge Frederick Motz, who is overseeing the Sun private antitrust lawsuit, issues an injunction requiring Microsoft to distribute Sun's JVM with "any product that contains .NET."

July 2002. An appeals court reverses Motz's injunction, but agrees that Microsoft violated Sun copyrights.

Fall 2003. Sun CEO Scott McNealy approaches Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer about reaching a broad agreement.

Mar. 24, 2004. The EC concludes its investigation of Microsoft and orders the company to disclose information that would allow non-Windows servers to "achieve full interoperability" with Windows clients. (See "EU Aims to Restrict 'Future Conduct'".)

Apr. 5, 2004. Sun and Microsoft settle all litigation and sign a technology-sharing agreement. Microsoft pays Sun US$1.6 billion to resolve past claims and US$350 million in licensing fees for unspecified Sun technologies.

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