US Court of Appeal rules against Microsoft

A ruling by the US Court of Appeal for the District of Columbia has rejected Microsoft's request to reconsider a finding that the software giant deliberately integrated web browser software with Windows, giving it an unfair advantage in the internet software market.

The Court also rejected a request by the US Department of Justice to expedite the process of returning the original ruling to a lower court for a different judge to reconsider an appropriate penalty.

The original decision in June 2000 found Microsoft guilty on eight charges of violating US antitrust law, including co-mingling Internet Explorer.

A subsequent ruling by the Court of Appeal asked a lower judge to re-evaluate the remedy stage of the trial. State prosecutors had asked the Court to scrap the mandatory 52-day waiting period before a case can be reconsidered.

They had hoped to delay the 25 October release of Microsoft's latest consumer operating system, Windows XP.

The verdict comes as criticism regarding Microsoft's forthcoming release mounts. Democratic Senator Charles Schumer has called on the Government to block the release of XP, while Kodak and AOL are also in dispute with Microsoft.

As we went to press Microsoft took its antitrust appeal to the Supreme Court, a stalling tactic that will further reduce the chances of attempts to delay Windows XP.

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