A U.S. District Court judge let stand two of the six counts in Novell Inc.’s antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft Corp., which accused the software giant of damaging Novell’s business through monopolistic behavior. The remaining counts were dismissed. Novell’s case is that Microsoft wielded its OS monopoly to prevent Novel’s office applications from competing fairly in the marketplace.
The two remaining counts are based on allegations that Microsoft illegally used its monopoly in the operating system market and that Microsoft entered into exclusionary agreements with computer makers.
No kidding, I remember talking to a Zeos sales rep, way back when, wanting to buy a new Zeos PC with WordPerfect instead of MS word, he said – no can do, in order to sell MS Windows we had to sign a contract to sell only Microsoft products and no other competing products of any kind, or we (Zeos) would not be able to buy/sell MS Windows.
with SuSe marches.
Microsoft enforce anyone to use their products.
At school, at the office, in the “watercloset”, on the cars, on the planes, etc. etc.
Their marketing tactics are wrong but much people do the same…
Now, look at the TV advertisement of Windows XP…
*laughing*
Is really fun to read that Microsoft will pay $538 million to Novell
)))… why 538 milions and not 538 milions of billions 
)?
This is excellent! (not that Novell had to sue–it’s kind of sad to even *have to*, but it’s good the judge has let stand what he did)
I believe Novell will win, too. 🙂 You go, Novell! And many blessings upon you for SuSE, too; I’ll be buying that as my OS soon enough.
–EyeAm (a Novell/SuSE fan)
Add Netscape, RealNetworks, ICQ/AIM/Yahoo for spoiling their businesses and that would be even more fun.
This is our response to Microsoft’s SCO business.
Novel failed to create a modern OS for its network infrastructure. I am aware how Novel network performs, god damn it, c…p!!!. Instead to create something new, they sue …
Now thay have SUSE. To tell the truth, I think SUSE has been the best Linux distro until now. However, mesaliance with Novel will be disasterous for SUSE, and it is so pity.
Novel may win in this case, as their honor, judjes do not understand much in software-making, but they understand that a business a poor company Novel was distructed by MS and not by ineffective coding of “high qualified” Novel programers and managers…
I hope Novell wins. If the case is in Utah at least Novell has a chance vs. all the other courts Microsoft has bought off.
their honor, judjes do not understand much in software-making
Ahh, but I’m sure you’re an expert…
We all know that Microsoft has had predatory practices for a LONG time. And, despite the recent debacle that was called the US DOJ, it’s still going on. If you don’t punish a company, they’ll keep doing it. An old saying “A leopard doesn’t change its spots”. And it’s very true.
If the US DOJ had had any balls, they’d have:
1. Made Microsoft port MS Office to Linux/BSD (this is where Microsoft’s true monopoly exists imho)
2. Made Microsoft open up certain standards (like smb and cifs), make them software patent free (or unenforceable at least)
3. Forced Microsoft to rip out Internet Explorer from it’s current love affair with the NT kernel
4. Same as 3, but Windows Media Player
5. Same as 3 & 4, but with MSN Messenger
6. Fine them a LOT money (i’m not talking millions here, but something like 40 or 50 billion dollars). I don’t care about the shareholders, they’re greedy lechers anyways. They irreparable harm that Microsoft has done to the worldwide software industry is worth that sort of fine.
Just look at the current XML farce – not only does the USPTO allow it, but the US DOJ doesn’t even investigate it as a troubled company entrenching itself in further monopolistic behaviour.
No, Microsoft has gotten off way too lightly. The government is elected by the people, for the people, and companies that break the law should receive the maximum penalty, not a light flick on the wrist, such as Microsoft has. That’s a joke, and it just makes the US a joke. You ever wonder why Europeans dislike the US? Think of things like the US DOJ, ridiculous patents, extended copyrights, thus diminishing the public domain. Americans, be ashamed of yourselves, because i’m pretty damn sure that this is not the image the founding fathers had.
Dave
Novel failed to create a modern OS for its network infrastructure. I am aware how Novel network performs, god damn it, c…p!!!. Instead to create something new, they sue …
Now thay have SUSE. To tell the truth, I think SUSE has been the best Linux distro until now. However, mesaliance with Novel will be disasterous for SUSE, and it is so pity.
Novel may win in this case, as their honor, judjes do not understand much in software-making, but they understand that a business a poor company Novel was distructed by MS and not by ineffective coding of “high qualified” Novel programers and managers…
OMG!!! Please RTFA before making stupid comments. Here are some important quotes from the article.
In a ruling on June 10, Judge Frederick Motz of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland denied Microsoft’s motion to dismiss two counts in Novell’s lawsuit, which claims that Microsoft illegally damaged efforts by Novell to market its WordPerfect word-processing and Quattro Pro spreadsheet applications. The products are now owned by Corel Corp.
Microsoft argued that Novell’s claims aren’t legitimate because its office productivity packages didn’t compete in the operating system market, where the government’s case had proved a Microsoft monopoly.
The four counts thrown out by Motz had alleged that Microsoft held monopolies in the word-processing and spreadsheet application markets. The ruling stated that those allegations were never asserted in the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust case against Microsoft, and Novell’s civil antitrust case is based on that case.
Novell filed the WordPerfect-related antitrust lawsuit in November 2004, within days of settling with Microsoft over antitrust claims related to Novell’s NetWare network operating system product. Microsoft agreed to pay Novell $536 million in that settlement.
“The four counts thrown out by Motz had alleged that Microsoft held monopolies in the word-processing and spreadsheet application markets. The ruling stated that those allegations were never asserted in the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust case against Microsoft, and Novell’s civil antitrust case is based on that case.”
Instead of simply relying on the previous anti-trust case, shouldn’t this judge make a ruling on whether Microsoft has a monopoly on word-processing and spreadsheet software or not?
@ David Pastern
The government is elected by the people
Where? Since when?
I’m not aware of any country in the world that has democracy.
In the so called democratic countries like in Europe, the politians and usually rich influencial people who do not represent the interests of the population.
They get elected by a very flawed election process.
And the US has a two party system. I wouldn’t call that democracy either.
In theory anybody can run for an office but in practice, without a lot of money, media attention (media is owned by the ruling cast), and many other factors, it’s a lost cause.
So no, there is no such thing as democracy in the world today.
“Novell’s case is that Microsoft wielded its OS monopoly to prevent Novel’s office applications from competing fairly in the marketplace.”
Yes, that must be the reason why Novell failed to market WordPerfect – Office has an advantage of knowing how the next Windows would be like… never mind that Windows is for the most part backward compatible, and that Office today don’t even use native GUI DLL’s – taking advantage of Windows’ latest tech?
Uh huh.
@David Pastern
“1. Made Microsoft port MS Office to Linux/BSD (this is where Microsoft’s true monopoly exists imho)”
Microsoft makes Office for Macs. In fact, until the next revision of Office for Windows comes out, ever new version of Office for Mac is better. How exactly would forcing Office to port to Linux help? After the stunning commercial success of WordPerfect and StarOffice, what reason do they have not to? /sarcasm.
“2. Made Microsoft open up certain standards (like smb and cifs), make them software patent free (or unenforceable at least)”
Who is to determine what those open standard are?
“3. Forced Microsoft to rip out Internet Explorer from it’s current love affair with the NT kernel
4. Same as 3, but Windows Media Player
5. Same as 3 & 4, but with MSN Messenger”
And leave thousands if not millions of programs non-working. Consumers in mind? Yeah right. BTW, Windows doesn’t include MSN Messenger, rather it includes Windows Messenger. It may surprise you, but there might just be a reason why MSN Messenger can be so much more famous and used than Windows Messenger even though it is not carried by Windows itself…
“6. Fine them a LOT money (i’m not talking millions here, but something like 40 or 50 billion dollars).”
Which would take considerable amount of money from Microsoft’s networth, forcing it to go into layoff mode coupled with 3, 4, and 5. Why? So that Netscape can compete on a “level” basis with Internet Explorer – after a 5-year rewrite, certainly they deserve another go! Hundreds of jobs? Nah, forget about them.
@Wagons west:
“Instead of simply relying on the previous anti-trust case, shouldn’t this judge make a ruling on whether Microsoft has a monopoly on word-processing and spreadsheet software or not?”
No. Why? Novell’s case is based upon previously found monopolistic practices by Judge Jackson. Considering how vague antitrust laws are, I’m not surprised Novell wouldn’t want to risk to get the courts to determine whether or not Office is a monopoly or not. If Novell wanted Office to be regarded as a monopoly by its own right, they would have filed a different brief.
@Anonymouse: Uhm, whatever.
“Microsoft argued that Novell’s claims aren’t legitimate because its office productivity packages didn’t compete in the operating system market, where the government’s case had proved a Microsoft monopoly.”
This one is interesting. The office productivity packages don’t run alone (i.e., sans operating system). And another thing: how could Novell properly compete if it, like others, they may have been unfairly kept from properly competing?
Essentially the whole point of the suit, I guess.
–EyeAm
Yes, the governments are elected by the people. People vote. Businesses don’t. Businesses donate money, oops I mean bribe! And yes, i’m not naive enough to know that money counts, and that those sitting for office are those that are rich and powerful. Since the majority of people are poor, then there should be caps on how much money you can have and still be able to sit for a political post. ie. since the majority of the population is poor, the the rich and powerful have long since lost understanding for what it’s like to be poor etc, then they are not suitable to sit for any political role. You don’t kill a snake by cutting off it’s tale, you cut off it’s head. So, using that analogy, you go straight to the root cause of the problem and restore power to the people, and not to the rich and powerful, or the greedy corporates.
Rajan R:
1. You obviously have no idea what you’re talking about. Staroffice & wordperfect are competitors to Microsoft Office? What dope are you smoking? It must be really good, I want some!
By forcing Microsoft Office to be ported to Linux and BSD you are forcing Microsoft to not ignore these fine operating systems, and thus introducing true stability to the market. The standards themselves are proprietary. Microsoft deliberately locks out BSD & Linux by ommission of Office. How do you justify porting Office to OS X when Macs have far fewer users worldwide than Linux? Is it economics? Nope. Microsoft knows that it has a stranglehold on Office software, it knows that Linux is a danger. Microsoft knows that as soon as Office is ported to BSD and Linux, people will ditch MS Windows, fire up BSD or Linux and load MS Office. Loss of sales. Microsoft is deliberately withholding Office to BSD & Linux in order to keep its monopoly on the Windows operating system. Nothing more and nothing less. If you believe anything less, you must also believe in the tooth fairy.
Quote: “Who is to determine what those open standard are? ”
That’s what governments are for. They determine what is best for the people, not business. That’s how a true democracy should work, one that is unfettered by monetary bribery. Should businesses be allowed special rules above and beyond what the people have? No.
Quote: “And leave thousands if not millions of programs non-working. Consumers in mind? Yeah right. BTW,”
Bullshit. Microsoft has created a [clever] monopoly by including a browser, so heavily tied into the operating systems kernel it isn’t funny. It leaves poorer security. Microsoft lied under oath and said that IE couldn’t be removed. That was, and still is, a blatant lie. Why Microsoft wasn’t punished for lying under oath i’ll never know…oh hang on, I do!!! They bribed the US DOJ and several politicians. I’m not stupid, nor are millions of others. Just because evidence is hidden, doesn’t mean something didn’t happen.
Just because consumers are tied to software doesn’t mean you allow a company to have practiced, and still practice illegal tactics. Period. Microsoft broke the law, and should have been fully punished for it’s punitive sins. That’s a fair and equal legal system, not one favouring the rich and powerful. Microsoft destroyed Novell, Netscape etc with illegal monopolistic tactics. Even the US DOJ found them guilty of this. The punishment was nothing but a joke, but they were found guilty.
Quote: “Which would take considerable amount of money from Microsoft’s networth”
I don’t really care. They broke the law. The punishment metered out by the US DOJ was pathetic and unnacceptable. The punishment has to be serious enough to discourage Microsoft from doing the same monopolistic tactics again – btw which they are still doing. That tells me that the punishment was not enough to deter Microsoft.
A question – do you own Microsoft shares, or are you a Microsoft shill? Or better still, do you work for the corrupt US Government?
Dave
“1. You obviously have no idea what you’re talking about. Staroffice & wordperfect are competitors to Microsoft Office? What dope are you smoking? It must be really good, I want some!”
This dope is something called “reality”. It’s pretty easy to smoke it, run outside, throw out your tinfoil hat, and breath in. StarOffice http://www.sun.com/software/star/staroffice/index.xml
“StarOffice 7 Office Suite is the world’s leading office productivity suite on Linux and the Solaris OS, and the leading alternative office suite on Windows.”
Or even more stark, WordPerfect Office: http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=Corel3/Products/Dis…
“WordPerfect® Office 12 – Standard Edition offers a complete office productivity solution to power your home business or small business. This full-featured, compatible alternative to Microsoft® Office is priced at up to 63% less than Microsoft Office*.”
Uh huh, they’re not competitors! Oh, not, they’re not.
“By forcing Microsoft Office to be ported to Linux and BSD you are forcing Microsoft to not ignore these fine operating systems, and thus introducing true stability to the market.”
By forcing Microsoft to port Office to these “fine operating systems”, you are giving the courts the chance to decide what is these “fine operating systems”. Would GNU/Hurd be considered one of these “fine operating system”? No? What about RISC OS? Certainly many would say it is a “fine operating system”. Why not a port to this “fine operating system” known as Haiku?
“Microsoft deliberately locks out BSD & Linux by ommission of Office.”
I’m sure by ommision of MSN Messenger for Linux, a whole lot of teenagers would find BSD and Linux undesirable.
“Bullshit. Microsoft has created a [clever] monopoly by including a browser, so heavily tied into the operating systems kernel it isn’t funny.”
Internet Explorer DLL’s, like most of Win32 DLLs, isn’t tied to Windows NT kernel. You should know better than that.
“It leaves poorer security.”
So many people have migrated out of Windows because of its poor security. Why do you want to help Windows?
“That’s what governments are for. They determine what is best for the people, not business.”
How exactly is the people served with higher unemployment, a sluggish software market, and most of all, a whole lot of software incompatibilty?
“Microsoft lied under oath and said that IE couldn’t be removed.”
I’m sure those printer drivers that was once 3rd party also can be removed. Heck, a whole lot of things can be removed. For a time I didn’t use explorer.exe as my shell. Perhaps they should remove that, right? Hey, I got a brilliant idea, why not force Microsoft to ship Windows solely as a kernel!
“They bribed the US DOJ and several politicians.”
Uh huh. And there must also be a massive coverup at Roswell too, yah? Do back up your claims – realize that bribing is a felony, not to be taken lightly.
“Why Microsoft wasn’t punished for lying under oath i’ll never know…”
Because they didn’t? The prosecution – the dissenting states showed an installation of Windows without Internet Explorer. What they neglected to show is thousands of third party applications that depends its DLL’s working without Internet Explorer. Why should any court force Microsoft to take out Internet Explorer, forces millions of customers to deal with broken software and hundreds of thousands of developers with severe migraines, all so that Netscape might, just might, be a little bit more competitive?
“Even the US DOJ found them guilty of this.”
You do realize that the DOJ is the extension of the executive? They have absolutely no power in deciding who’s guilty and who’s not. Let’s put it in a way an Australian can understand – DOJ is the equilevent to the Attorney-General’s Department. The Supreme Court is the equilevent to Australia’s federal High Court. The Attorney-General doesn’t determine who’s guilty and who’s not in both America and Australia. Understand now?
“I don’t really care. They broke the law.”
A really vague set of laws, mind you.
“The punishment has to be serious enough to discourage Microsoft from doing the same monopolistic tactics again – btw which they are still doing.”
Yes. You can stop any company from pursuing the same kind of business practices all other successful businesses pursue by bankrupting them. But for what ends? BTW, antitrust laws have little provision for punishment but a lot of provision for “remedy”.
“That tells me that the punishment was not enough to deter Microsoft.”
What for? Firefox have been gaining market share at an incredible rate – considering they pretty much have no marketing budget, so much for monopolistic practices? In fact, the threat Firefox placed was so severe that Microsoft had to change their plans regarding IE 7 to maintain any edge of competivity. Any reason why AOL, Real or Novell couldn’t get the same success with far much more marketing and advertising money to splash around?
“A question – do you own Microsoft shares, or are you a Microsoft shill? Or better still, do you work for the corrupt US Government?”
No, no, and no. But, considering the dividents, I don’t mind having the first, and, considering my financial condition, getting the last.
I once heard the term lobbying, which was treated as some sort of *legal* bribing, but actually lobbying is about moving people to persuade the people who has the power to do the things (lawmakers, legislators, etc.) by doing meetings, media publicity, etc.
Today it seems more like personal meetings with juicy donations to the party, or so it seems (not from USA, just reading news).
WTF?