DoJ Says Microsoft Violated Key Antitrust Law

The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) says that Microsoft has violated the Sherman Act, the cornerstone of U.S. antitrust law, in at least four ways.

The DoJ’s “proposed conclusions of law,” presented Dec. 6, state the government’s position on how U.S. law applies to the facts of the antitrust case against Microsoft. The facts themselves were defined in the Washington, D.C., Circuit Court by Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson last month, after nearly a year of testimony from Microsoft, its competitors, partners, and experts. (See “Judge Labels Microsoft a Monopolist” on page 27 of the Dec. 1999 Update.)

Given the DoJ’s success in persuading Judge Jackson at the fact-finding stage, the DoJ’s submission that Microsoft violated U.S. antitrust law was a foregone conclusion.

The Charges

The DoJ charges that Microsoft violated U.S. antitrust law by:

• “A host of actions” that illegally maintained its monopoly in the market
• Impairing Netscape’s access to the market
• Illegally tying its Internet