Judge rules Gates must give deposition in public
Article Abstract:
The Government's pretrial depositions of Microsoft Chmn and CEO William H. Gates as well as 16 other company executives must be made available to the press, according to a Federal judge's order. Thomas Penfield Jackson of the Federal District Court in Washington, who is presiding over the Government's antitrust case against Microsoft, made the ruling in response to a motion filed by several news organizations. Gates was scheduled to begin his deposition today, but Microsoft's lawyers obtained a postponement while deciding whether to appeal Jackson's ruling. Microsoft is concerned that the deposition process might jeopardize its trade secrets and confidential business information, according to a company spokesman. Such public access is somewhat unusual in a significant antitrust case, but a similar precedent includes the Justice Department's case against IBM, which the Government halted in 1982.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1998
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U.S. and Microsoft to talk before possible showdown
Article Abstract:
Officials of the Justice Department and Microsoft meet on Apr 10, 1998 in Washington DC, in an effort to come up with common ground in lieu of a court battle. The meeting is seen as a high-stakes antitrust poker game with the Justice Department playing a possible new antitrust case card and Microsoft taking its chances on a court case. Joel I. Klein, Justice's Asst Attorney General in charge of antitrust issues, is expected to discuss Microsoft's contracts with PC makers which have given rise to the charge that the software giant is using its dominance in the operating system field to give it an unfair edge over its competitors in such markets and online commerce and office productivity software. Microsoft's legal team is expected to counter that its marketing practices are entirely legal if fully understood.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1998
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Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
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