WASHINGTON -- A memo about Microsoft's antitrust woes leaked by a top company lawyer blames the press for focusing on incendiary details about Bill Gates instead of the facts of the trial. But if you're looking for something surprising or embarrassing, you'll be disappointed.
The memo, apparently circulated to Microsoft managers who were encouraged to distribute it within their organization, reads like a 10-page press release. Just about every point in it has already been made by William Neukom, the Microsoft lawyer who descends the courthouse steps every day of the trial to offer his thoughts to the awaiting crowd of journalists.
The memo, which a Microsoft spokesman confirmed was authentic, blames those journalists for focusing on style instead of substance.
For a window onto the Microsoft antitrust trial, visit US v. Microsoft. - - - - - -
"Trials can be pretty dull (think of an afternoon spent listening to testimony on the intricacies of native code interfaces in Java class libraries). Given the tedious nature of court proceedings, most news accounts of the trial focus upon moments of seeming 'drama,' even though such vignettes may be irrelevant to the likely outcome of the trial," said the memo, prepared by Microsoft lawyer Dave Heiner.
Heiner said that the press coverage was overwhelmingly negative in Microsoft's two previous antitrust tussles. "In both cases, however, we won in court and did so by unanimous decisions of the Court of Appeals. (Appeals are heard by panels of three judges.)"
He also -- no surprise -- predicted that Microsoft will win the case.
Was the apparent leak of the document to Ralph Nader's organization -- which then immediately sent it out to journalists -- intentional? It's hard to say. But Microsoft doesn't seem to mind everyone reading such confident predictions.
"This is essentially how they want people to describe the case," said Jamie Love, who recirculated the memo. "It also comes across as pretty defiant, almost as Microsoft is continuing to deny they're getting their ass kicked in the court. It shows the tone inside the bunkers."
