An antitrust apology

In opening statements in the Minnesota consumer antitrust lawsuit today, a lawyer for Microsoft said the company was sorry for the anticompetitive actions that came to light in the federal antitrust suit against the company.

"The conduct involved competition that went over the line," said the lawyer, David Tulchin, according to an Associated Press account. However, he told the jury, "The question for you is whether or not consumers were overcharged" -- not whether the company's practices were anticompetitive. Read the full story here.

In related news, there was an interesting story in the Wall Street Journal today detailing, among other things, a 1997 e-mail exchange between Microsoft executive Jeff Raikes and iconic investor Warren Buffett. Among many other points, Raikes explained to Buffett that Microsoft has "pricing discretion" as a result of its strong market position, with profit margins in excess of 90 percent.

The exchange is expected to be used as evidence by the plaintiffs' lawyers in the Minnesota case. WSJ.com subscribers can access the story and the e-mails here. CNet News.com has its own summary here.

Meanwhile, in Brussels, it's not yet clear whether Microsoft will be able to settle with the European Commission prior to the expected conclusion of that antitrust case next week. See this Associated Press story for the latest.

Posted by Todd Bishop at March 17, 2004 03:04 PM