Dorsey partner Michael Lindsay reacted in MarketWatch, Inc. to efforts by a group of U.S. states to extend the Microsoft antitrust consent decree. The decree, which requires Microsoft to report regularly on its own competitive behavior, resulted from a settlement with the Department of Justice in 2002, and had been scheduled to expire in early November. Visa, Inc. and Weyerhaeuser Co. have sought to intervene in the case, arguing that an extension could trigger a wave of needless litigation for already overburdened federal courts.
Lindsay said that extending Microsoft's consent decree could have a significant effect on other large companies' willingness to settle antitrust cases in the future. In addition, he suggested that extending the decree could encourage more third parties to intervene in antitrust cases, in the belief they can make a difference. "If there's room to get a court to push interpretation into unilateral renegotiation, then why wouldn't someone who wants to influence the outcome try?"
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"Microsoft's fellow giants push to end its oversight" was published by MarketWatch, Inc., November 28, 2007.