There is a lot more going on
behind the scene
From: Diana J. Choyce
Mar 06 - 12, 2000
The Microsoft name pops up daily on a worldwide basis, whether it be
news items, software reviews and much more. Lately the US news media has been having a
hayday in Microsoft's fight with the Department of Justice. But there is a lot more going
on behind the scene, especially having to do with lawsuits. Some say that the number of
suits has escalated since they were first brought under fire in the well publicized
anti-trust suit. But whatever the reasons, Microsoft's lawyers may end up with a more
profitable year than Bill Gates himself.
This week will likely bring double the news spread as Microsoft and the
Department of Justice lawyers make their final arguments in the infamous anti-trust suit.
For the record, in November, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson issued his
finding of facts, ruling that Microsoft was a monopoly that had abused its influence in
the technology industry. Now, in the second phase of the trial, Jackson must apply
antitrust law to those facts to determine whether any of Microsoft's actions were illegal.
If he reaches that conclusion, the case will then proceed to a third and final phase,
during which Jackson will hear more arguments from each side and then decide what
penalties or remedies to impose. This weeks arguments will not likely bring any new
information to light, so it is assumed that Judge Jackson will make his findings known in
six to eight weeks. After that the last phase of the trial will begin. In the meantime,
U.S. Appeals Court Judge Richard Posner was appointed as a mediator in November, and is
continuing work with the two sides with meetings in Chicago. Given that Microsoft is even
now aggressively lobbying Congress for support, it is not likely that there will be a
settlement. Whatever the outcome, this is sure to be a landmark case with far reaching
implications on the computer industry.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is fending off and creating new lawsuits by the
dozens. We'll only look at two recent cases, as writing about all would take a full
magazine and then some. Last week, a South Korean stationery company threatened Saturday
to block Microsoft from using its Windows operating system label in its software manuals
in South Korea. Yangji Co. says it registered and began using the trademark 'Window' on
some of its diaries in 1980, before Microsoft introduced its computer software. Yangji won
a seven-year legal battle against Microsoft on Friday when South Korea's patent court
rejected Microsoft's attempt to repeal Yangji's Window trademark in South Korea. "It
was a typical case of a giant company trying to wield its money power to do whatever it
wants to do at the sacrifice of smaller companies,'' said Yangji president Kim Yong-se on
Saturday. With his trademark rights re-affirmed, Kim said he was considering filing a
damages suit, accusing Microsoft of illegally using Yangji's Window label on its software
manuals published in South Korea. Yangji has both 'Window' and its phonetic Korean script
patented as trademark names for use in printed material in South Korea. The phonetic
Korean names of Yangji's Window and Microsoft's Windows are the same. The legal battle
started in 1993 when Microsoft challenged Yangji's label. Kim said Microsoft once offered
to pay $1,000 to buy the trademark in 1996. South Korean patent authorities and lower
courts had ruled in favor of Microsoft, but Yangji appealed to the Supreme Court, which
ordered a retrial in May last year. On Friday, the Patent Court reversed its earlier
decision and ruled in favor of Yangji. Officials at Microsoft's Seoul office were not
immediately available for comment Saturday. With $36 million in annual sales, Yangji is
South Korea's largest producer of diaries.
Microsoft has even had its share of internal suits filed by its own
workers. It has recently had to make a major policy change , following pressure from
litigation and union organizers to bar use of so-called "permatemps'', temporary
workers who stay in the same job for years, but without the benefits offered permanent
workers. It is limiting its temporary workers to one year of employment at a time, with
100-day intervals in between. This move will force up to 1,500 of its long-term contract
workers to find new jobs or seek permanent positions with the company. The company's
permatemp practice was challenged in two lawsuits filed by long-term temporary workers who
want permanent-worker benefits. Microsoft lost one case, which won temp workers the right
to buy Microsoft stock at a 15 percent discount. The second lawsuit, seeking medical and
retirement benefits, is still pending. Microsoft "is slowly but painfully finding out
that they have to treat people who work full time, year round, as regular employees,''
said Mike Blain, a former contract worker at Microsoft and co-founder of the Washington
Association of Technical Workers, a local labor group. Sharon Decker, Microsoft's director
of contingent staffing, said the company made the change because of the lawsuits and
negative publicity surrounding the permatemp issue. Microsoft has been aggressively hiring
temp workers into full-time positions for the past couple of years, she said, and about 35
percent of new hires have worked there as temps. The company's new temp-limits policy
reflects those at such companies as IBM and Intel, said Rob Enderle, an analyst at
information-technology advisory firm Giga Information Group. "They are bringing the
corporate policy in line with the law,'' Enderle said. "You should never have a
temporary person working for more than one year.''
Microsoft will surely remain the target for news media for some time to
come. And in some ways, the result is free promotion of its brand name. However one would
think a company would prefer a more positive way to get its name in the news. Either way,
Microsoft is still making money, its lawyers are making money, and Bill gates is making
money. And we are still spending it, on Microsoft products. Life is indeed strange.
