As some states press for continued vigilance, court rules that Microsoft will remain under U.S. government watch for two more years. The U.S. government will continue to watch over Microsoft’s compliance with the terms of its famous antitrust case settlement for at least two more years. Court supervision of Microsoft’s compliance with a U.S. antitrust settlement will continue until November 12, 2009, ruled federal district judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on Tuesday. This ruling came in response to a filing by 10 states, including California and New York, to extend oversight until 2012. In her 78-page ruling, Kollar-Kotelly wrote that her decision comes in part due to Microsof’s delays in making technical documents available to software licensees as required by the court, especially those related to communications protocols. Such information makes it easier for other software manufacturers to create products that work well with Microsoft’s operating systems. The court decree that settled the landmark U.S. antitrust case against Microsoft in 2002 covers Microsoft’s ties to computer makers, how the company’s software works with other types of software and enforcement to ensure that Microsoft does not repeat past practices. “The Court’s extension should not be viewed as a sanction against Microsoft; to the contrary, the Court commends Microsoft for its willingness to cooperate with the Plaintiffs in this action and in United States v. Microsoft in negotiating solutions to issues as they have arisen throughout the past five years,” wrote Kollar-Kotelly. Nevertheless, after more than five years, communications protocols are still not available to licensees “in a certifiably complete, accurate, and useable form,” she wrote. The ruling is intended to give Microsoft time to accomplish that task. Related content feature Key IT initiatives reshape the CIO agenda While cloud, cybersecurity, and analytics remain top of mind for IT leaders, a shift toward delivering business value is altering how CIOs approach key priorities, pushing transformative projects to the next phase. By Mary Pratt May 30, 2023 10 mins IT Strategy IT Leadership opinion Managing IT right starts with rightsizing IT for value While there are few universals when it comes to saying unambiguously what ‘managing IT right’ looks like, knowing how to navigate the limitless possibilities of IT is surely one. By Thornton May May 30, 2023 6 mins Digital Transformation IT Strategy IT Leadership brandpost Designing the campus of the future starts with high-quality 10Gbps connectivity By Huawei May 30, 2023 4 mins Network Architect Networking Devices Networking feature Red Hat embraces hybrid cloud for internal IT The maker of OpenShift has leveraged its own open container offering to migrate business-critical apps to AWS as part of a strategy to move beyond facilitating hybrid cloud for others and capitalize on the model for itself. By Paula Rooney May 29, 2023 5 mins CIO 100 Technology Industry Hybrid Cloud Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe