State attorneys doubt MS Antitrust compliance

But keep talking

By Andrew Orlowski in San Francisco • Get more from this author

Posted in Business, 24th October 2003 23:07 GMT

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State Attorney generals have expressed doubt that Microsoft's protocol licensing program (MCPP) complies with the requirements of the Antitrust Seattlement. But they don't think it's serious enough, just yet, to merit judicial intervention.

California's assistant AG, Kathleen Foote said the attorneys needed more time to guage compliance. "We would have liked to say by now whether the remedy had achieved the purpose of opening up the market we had hoped for," she told Reuters.

Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly had herself expressed similar doubts at July's hearing, and today was reported as being pleased not that she had not been asked to intervene.

Microsoft has added five licensees to the MCPP program, which allows other companies to examine or license protocols such as SMB and CIFS. This represents a 125 per cent increase in licensees, but hardly indicates widespread industry interest. Redmond has also cut the access fees for the program. In a report issued last week, the complicance committee thought this indicated excellent progress.

Judge CKK will preside over the next hearing, which is set for January. ®

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