DOJ refuses to drop case against Microsoft

With the AOL's purchase of Netscape Communications and the sudden and weirdways that transaction will alter the competitive landscape of the Internetfor some time to come, Microsoft Corporation has announced that it will askfor a dismissal of the antitrust suit against it. On Tuesday, Microsoftsenior legal counsel William Neukom called on the U.S. Department ofJustice (DOJ) and 20 U.S. states to drop the case.

"The AOL/Netscape/Sun deal shows how the competitive landscape in this industry can change overnight, making government regulation unnecessary andcounter-productive," he said. "The government ought to drop this case. It ought to stop wasting taxpayer dollars and let the industry compete in the marketplace with technology and customer service."

The DOJ and states were quick to reject the request, however.

"The government has no intention of withdrawing the case, and Microsoft knows that," said DOJ legal counsel David Boies.

"We have established beyond peradventure of doubt that Microsoft has monopoly power and has engaged in a variety of acts that have made it impossible for others to compete with it," said New York Assistant AttorneyGeneral Stephen Houck, a spokesman for the states