Microsoft's Legal Problems

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Microsoft's Legal Problems Grow

Pending lawsuits may compound its troubles

U.S. district Judge Stanley Sporkin's ruling may be the biggest legal problem facing Microsoft, but it's not the only one.

In addition to a spate of lawsuits on file against the software behemoth, the Justice Department is continuing its investigation into whether Microsoft's planned acquisition of software developer Intuit Inc. violates antitrust laws.

Justice Department lawyers have been interviewing executives at online service providers, software companies, and merger and acquisition specialists trying to assess what impact the $1.5 billion deal would have on the personal finance software market.

What About Apple?
Microsoft's rivals are hopeful that Sporkin's decision a ugurs further hurdles for the company. "Maybe now the Supreme Court will reconsider the Apple lawsuit," says Jim Armstrong, head of worldwide support for Apple Computer Inc.'s multimedia products.

Apple has asked the high court to review a copyright suit against Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard Co. that was originally filed in 1988. The suit charges that Microsoft's Windows and HP's NewWave programs illegally copied aspects of Apple's Macintosh computer. Two federal courts dismissed the case, but Apple is waiting for a decision on an appeal filed in December.

Apple has also added Microsoft to an unrelated copyright infringement lawsuit involving Apple's QuickTime for Windows. Intel Corp. and San Francisco Canyon Co., a small privately held software vendor, were also named as defendants.

Earlier this month, AVI Systems, a small Oakland, Calif.-based computer company, filed a trademark infringement suit against Microsoft, alleging that Microsoft had illegally adopted AVI's trademarked video software in so me of its programs.

And Microsoft's planned online service is coming under fire. On Feb. 14, the ASCII Group Inc., a buying group of 1,075 computer dealers based in Bethesda, Md., asked Justice to investigate Microsoft Network, the company's yet-to-be launched online service.