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Sun sues Microsoft for $1 billion over Java


Sun Microsystems announced on Friday that it has filed a private antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft, seeking damages that could exceed $1 billion and court orders to force its rival to support Sun’s Java platform as part of Windows XP and Internet Explorer.

The case, filed in the US District Court in San Jose, describes at length the harm inflicted by Microsoft's anti-competitive behaviour with respect to the Java platform. Its arguments are supported by a ruling of June 2001, when the Federal Court of Appeals found Microsoft guilty of illegally abusing its monopoly power with respect to Sun’s Java platform and AOL’s Netscape internet browser. AOL Time Warner recently announced its own lawsuit against Microsoft on the back of the same ruling.

Michael Morris, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Sun said:

"This private antitrust lawsuit is intended to restore competition in the marketplace by removing unlawful barriers to the distribution of the Java platform and to interoperability between Microsoft software and competitive technologies. The achievement of these goals will allow for greater innovation and increased customer choice."

In its complaint, Sun alleges that Microsoft is liable for:

  • Fragmenting the Java platform;
  • Flooding the market with incompatible Java Runtime Environments;
  • Forcing other companies to distribute or use products that are incompatible with Java;
  • Significantly limiting Sun's distribution channels for the Java Runtime Environment;
  • Intentionally interfering with the development of Java-based applications for compatible runtimes;
  • Copyright infringement resulting from Microsoft's distribution of an unlicensed implementation of the Java Runtime Environment;
  • Intentional creation of incompatibilities between Microsoft software and competing technologies, thereby raising switching costs for consumers and reducing consumer choice.

Morris continued:

“While this suit is based on the past actions of Microsoft, Sun also believes that Microsoft's continuing practices in the marketplace represent a threat to lawful competition and the millions of developers who depend on the existence of an open software industry. This behaviour manifests Microsoft's goal to use its monopoly position to turn the internet into its proprietary platform. What is at stake here is the future of an open software industry and an open internet.”

In its suit, Sun is seeking preliminary injunctions requiring Microsoft to distribute Sun's current binary implementation of the Java plug-in as part of Windows XP and Internet Explorer and to stop distribution of Microsoft's Java Virtual Machine through separate downloads.

Sun is also seeking a permanent injunction requiring Microsoft to disclose and license proprietary interfaces, protocols, and formats and to unbundle tied products, such as Internet Explorer, IIS web server, and the .Net framework.

Sun’s lawsuit can be downloaded as a 76-page PDF from: www.sun.com/lawsuit/complaint.pdf

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