Justice Department, Microsoft try to keep other firms from testifying in settlement hearing

Tuesday, February 19th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Justice Department and Microsoft asked a court on Tuesday to bar a telecommunications company from testifying in a hearing to approve their antitrust settlement.

Several Microsoft rivals have asked the court to let them appear at the hearing, scheduled for March 6. In papers filed with U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, the Justice Department and Microsoft argued that SBC Communications has no right to enter the case.

``Asserting no claim or defense of its own, SBC simply seeks to promote its own view of the public interest,'' Justice lawyers wrote. ``But the United States, and not private parties, represents the public interest in government antitrust cases.''

SBC provides telephone and Internet service in California, Nevada and several other states. The nine states still suing Microsoft plan to call an SBC executive as a witness against Microsoft.

Microsoft and the Justice Department have said they prefer that no other firms or individuals testify in the March hearing.

Next month's hearing, which may take less than one day, is designed to let the Justice Department and Microsoft explain why their antitrust settlement should be approved. Kollar-Kotelly will then choose whether to approve or throw out the settlement.

Two trade groups critical of Microsoft, the Computer and Communications Industry Association and ProComp, want to use the hearing to criticize the settlement. The groups represent Microsoft rivals such as AOL Time Warner, Sun Microsystems, Intuit, Kodak and Yahoo.

ProComp's ``member companies have knowledge of the software industry and its dynamics, have worked and competed with Microsoft ... and know first-hand how Microsoft can exploit loopholes in such agreements,'' ProComp lawyers wrote in their request to the judge.

The settlement, reached last year, would prevent Microsoft from retaliating against partners for using non-Microsoft products; require the company to disclose some of its software blueprints so software developers can make compatible products; and make it easier for consumers to remove extra Windows features.

In another development, Kollar-Kotelly told Microsoft it has to let experts from the nine suing states inspect the software blueprints of its Windows operating systems.