http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2556587130-ba5 05:13 PM ET 10/14/98 Microsoft rebuffed in bid to delay antitrust trial WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. federal court Wednesday denied Microsoft Corp.'s request to delay the start of the software company's antitrust trial by two weeks, clearing the way for the case to begin next Monday. The decision was one of a flurry of procedural rulings and filings made with the approach of the scheduled start of the trial. Last week, Microsoft, the world's leading computer software company, agreed with the Justice Department to the Oct. 19 starting date. But after the judge granted the joint request, Microsoft immediately sought a further two-week delay. Some legal experts said Microsoft's motion was made for the record, allowing the company to argue on appeal that it should have been granted more time. The Justice Department and 20 states have alleged that Microsoft illegally used its monopoly in software operating systems for personal computers to compete unfairly, in order to preserve and extend its dominance. Lawyers have been questioning the witnesses before they appear at the trial. Live testimony will include only cross-examination on earlier depositions by the witnesses. On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson also ruled that Microsoft could take depositions from two new witnesses brought in by the government -- Avadis Tevanian, a senior vice president of software engineering at Apple Computer Inc., and James Gosling, a vice president at Sun Microsystems Inc., the computer workstation maker that created the Java programming language. Sun has its own lawsuit against Microsoft under way in San Jose, Calif. Jackson also set up a trial procedure for releasing testimony taken earlier from witnesses. Transcripts of that questioning will be released at 1600 EDT (2000 GMT) the day before each witness is to testify. There will be 12 witnesses for each side in the trial. ^REUTERS@ ____________________________________________________________________ -------------------------------------------------------------------- Join The Web Consultants Association : Register on our web site Now Web Consultants Web Site : http://just4u.com/webconsultants If you lose the instructions All subscription/unsubscribing can be done directly from our website for all our lists. ---------------------------------------------------------------------
