Court oversight of Microsoft Corp."s market power, which began in 2002 after a landmark antitrust settlement, has been extended by 18 months after a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly today. The decision was influenced by delays by Microsoft in filing technical documents related to the licensing of its software, although the judge said the court"s ruling "should not be viewed as a sanction against Microsoft." The settlement will remain in effect until November 2009, though a group of ten states, led by California and New York, had requested the oversight be extended until November 2012.
In response, Brad Smith, Microsoft"s general counsel, stated: "We will continue to comply fully with the consent decree. We are gratified that the court recognized our extensive efforts to work cooperatively with the large number of government agencies involved."