Judge orders Microsoft to carry Java
Source: CNet News
A U.S. district court judge on Monday ordered Microsoft to include Sun Microsystems' version of Java with the Windows operating system, citing the software giant's history of undermining the platform-neutral programming language. The preliminary injunction issued by Judge J. Frederick Motz in Baltimore is a double-barreled victory for Sun, which won preliminary injunctions on both the order to carry Java and a copyright infringement claim.
"I find it an absolute certainty that unless a preliminary injunction is entered, Sun will have lost forever its right to compete, and the opportunity to prevail, in a market undistorted by its competitor's antitrust violations," Motz wrote in the 42-page ruling.
Motz cast his decision in stark competitive terms, contending that Microsoft's actions benefited its own .Net products at Java's expense.
"Unless Sun is given a fair opportunity to compete in a market untainted by the effects of Microsoft's past antitrust violations, there is a serious risk that in the near future the market will tip in favor of .Net, that it is impossible to ascertain when such tipping might occur in time to prevent it from happening, and that if the market does tip in favor of .Net, Sun could not be adequately compensated in damages."
