Sun and Microsoft: A Timeline

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.