Opinion U.S. v. Microsoft Corporation

The action against Microsoft arose pursuant to a complaint filed by the United States and separate complaints filed by individual States. The District Court determined that Microsoft had maintained a monopoly in the market for Intel compatible PC operating systems in violation of s 2; attempted to gain a monopoly in the market for internet browsers in violation of s 2; and illegally tied two purportedly separate products, Windows and Internet Explorer ("IE"), in violation of s 1. United States v. Microsoft Corp., 87 F. Supp. 2d 30 (D.D.C. 2000) ("Conclusions of Law"). The District Court then found that the same facts that established liability under ss 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act mandated findings of liability under analogous state law antitrust provisions. To remedy the Sherman Act violations, the District Court issued a Final Judgment requiring Microsoft to submit a proposed plan of divestiture, with the company to be split into an operating systems business and an applications business. United States v. Microsoft Corp., 97 F. Supp. 2d 59, 64-65 (D.D.C. 2000) ("Final Judgment"). The District Court's remedial order also contains a number of interim restrictions on Microsoft's conduct.