http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2556956928-d8b 06:47 PM ET 11/05/98 Judge says Microsoft uses ``misleading language'' (adds detail on jackson criticism grafs 2, 4, 5, information on next witness graf 20) By David Lawsky WASHINGTON (Reuters) - District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson Thursday admonished a Microsoft Corp. lawyer at the company's antitrust trial for using ``misleading language'' that was ``not acceptable.'' It was the judge's strongest scolding of Microsoft counsel so far in the 11-day-old trial and he continued to criticize the lawyer as the day wore on. ``You keep mischaracterizing what he's told you,'' the judge snapped at Microsoft lawyer Theodore Edelman as he was cross-examining Apple Computer Inc. software executive Avadis Tevanian. Until now lawyer John Warden has spoken for Microsoft and incurred occasional mild criticism from the judge. But Jackson repeatedly criticized Edelman. At one point, he called one of the Microsoft lawyer's questions ``misleading'' and added: ``You shouldn't ask him the question.'' And Jackson, who had several times asked Edelman when he expected to finish, finally told him in mid-afternoon: ``I want you to try to finish today, I urge you to try.'' During his testimony, Tevanian said the software giant tried to get Apple to give up an important market and said both companies characterized that as ``knifing the baby.'' The executive said that at an April 1997 meeting, Microsoft surprised Apple with a proposal that Apple narrow the market for its multimedia player software called QuickTime that competed with a Microsoft product for playing music and video. That charge echoes one of the central allegations of the case. The Justice Department and 20 states have alleged that Microsoft violated the nation's antitrust laws by competing unfairly against Netscape Communications Corp. in the market for Internet browsers. The government says that Microsoft tried to get Netscape to surrender an important part of the market for Web browsers. As Edelman hammered away at Tevanian, the Apple senior vice president grew increasingly frustrated and turned to Judge Jackson at one point, telling him: ``Your honor, that's not even close to true.'' The breaking point came when the Microsoft lawyer asked about an Aug. 20, 1997, e-mail in which two Apple engineers suggested extensive co-operation with Microsoft. Tevanian said the document meant little, because ``we (upper management) flatly rejected their proposal because it didn't make sense.'' Microsoft's Edelman continued to press, until the judge interrupted. ``He said this was not a proposal, this was a predecision communication by two Apple engineers which was explicitly rejected by Mr. Tevanian and others as a proposal,'' Jackson said. ``It's misleading language and it is not acceptable to me.'' Tevanian described in court the April 1997 meeting where he charged the software titan made its proposal for Apple to stop QuickTime from working on computers using Microsoft's Windows operating software. He said Peter Hoddie of Apple was so surprised he wanted to be clear Microsoft was asking Apple to give up its Windows market for the QuickTime player. ``Do you want us to knife the baby?'' Hoddie asked Christopher Phillips, the business development manager for Microsoft's multimedia system. ``Yes, we're talking about knifing the baby,'' replied Microsoft's Phillips, according to Tevanian who was not actually at the meeting. Those kinds of concerns eventually led Apple to consider ways to counter Microsoft, Tevanian testified. Apple executives even discussed whether to warn Microsoft they could report it to the Justice Department for antitrust violations. But Tevanian said he did not know if such a plan ever went beyond internal discussions. The trial will resume Monday, when Tevanian will face a final, brief examination by the government. He will be followed by Steven McGeady, an executive with Intel Corp. In Boston Thursday, Microsoft argued an appeal of a ruling that denied it access to private tapes of interviews with Netscape executives used in writing the book, ``Competing on Internet Time.'' Microsoft would like to show that Netscape lost ground in the browser market because of its own mistakes rather than any unfair actions by Microsoft. Appeals Court Judge Bruce Seyla promised a timely ruling. ^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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------
