Supreme Court Denies MSFT Antitrust Appeal
Mar 18, 2008
Microsoft lost a Supreme Court ruling yesterday that opens the door for Novell to pursue an antitrust case against its competitor-turned-partner. According to the Associated Press, Novell told the Court that Microsoft "deliberately targeted and destroyed" WordPerfect and QuattroPro, software that Novell sold to Corel in 1996.
Computerworld UK called it a "vintage suit" that involves decade-old claims. But that didn't stop the Supreme Court, minus Chief Justice John Roberts who recused himself because he's a Microsoft shareholder, of denying Microsoft's appeal to put an end to Novell's antitrust claims.
Microsoft has vowed to fight the case, though it may ultimately settle out of court. The company issued this statement yesterday:
"We realize the Supreme Court reviews a small percentage of cases each year, but we filed our petition because it offered an opportunity to address the question of who may assert antitrust claims. We look forward to addressing this and other substantive matters in the case before the trial court. We believe the facts will show that Novell's claims, which are 12 to 14 years old, are without merit."
The team at Ars Technica has more on the case here.
Tags:
Antitrust, Microsoft, Novell, Supreme Court
