Sun presses ahead with antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft

The long running dispute concerns the Java programming language, and in particular Sun's Java Virtual Machine (JVM), a piece of software that is needed for a computer to run software written in Java.

The Java language, developed by Sun in 1995, is popular with internet-based applications and allows programmers to develop applications compatible with many types of computers, regardless of the platform on which they run.

The dispute started when Microsoft, which has developed its own competing language and virtual machine, decided to drop JVM from its Windows XP product.

In its lawsuit, Sun claimed that Microsoft has also forced developers to distribute products incompatible with Java. As a result, according to Sun, developers turned to Microsoft's .Net platform.

Together with the lawsuit, Sun asked the court to issue a temporary order requiring Microsoft to ship JVM with each copy of Windows XP and Internet Explorer. Sun argued that, if it waited until the case was heard, it would be left far behind in the competition. The court granted the order two days before Christmas, reasoning that Microsoft had gained an unfair advantage.

Microsoft appealed the order and, in February this year, a federal appeals court agreed to temporarily suspend the order, until the appeal itself is heard.

As part of its defence, Microsoft filed counterclaims alleging that Sun had violated a settlement reached in 2001 between the two companies over Java.

That settlement ended a previous legal dispute dating back to 1997, when Sun accused Microsoft of violating its licensing agreement by distributing incompatible versions of Java whilst deceptively presenting them as compatible.

Arguments in the appeal have now been heard and the decision is expected soon.

According to an article in Law.com, a settlement is unlikely. Lee Patch, Sun's vice president of legal affairs told Law.com this week that, "Our case involves a far broader set of issues and products than Netscape's and focuses principally upon strategic objectives that are intended to open the marketplace for greater opportunity for Sun and others to compete on the merits."

He confirmed that he expected the case to go to trial in 2005.

The Sun lawsuit is just one of many antitrust actions that are still ongoing against Microsoft. The company settled the main US Government case against it late last year, but the states of West Virginia and Massachusetts are appealing the settlement.

Other states have their own actions proceeding against the software giant, and there is the threat of a small class action in connection with overpriced PCs, allegedly caused by an abuse of Mircosoft's monopoly.

An EU commission investigation into alleged breaches by Microsoft of the EU competition rules has been ongoing for the last four years.

Last week, a spokeswoman for the Commission declined to give a timescale in which the investigation would be completed, albeit the decision had previously been expected at the turn of the year.

Nor would she comment on rumours that the Commission had only just sent out questionnaires to film, TV and record companies in connection with the long running investigation.