Microsoft has submitted a proposal to the Department of Justice and state attorneys general to settle antitrust charges, but one official yesterday described it as inadequate, according to a published report.
Dow Jones reported that Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller received the proposal and described it to a fellow attorney general as not going far enough. It is "far from what anyone in our group would expect to be adequate," said Bill Lockyer, California attorney general, based on what Miller told him. Lockyer himself had not seen the proposal.
According to Dow Jones, Microsoft indicates in its proposal that it is willing to loosen its contracts with OEMs and alter contracts with computer makers and Internet service providers to eliminate the portions that require exclusive or near-exclusive distribution of its products. The contracts have been at the heart of the case against the software giant, which was accused of using its monopoly in desktop software to gain dominance in the Internet market.
However, the report says, Microsoft's proposal avoids concessions on the issue of product integration, a second key point in the case. The government claims Microsoft's bundling of its Internet Explorer browser with its Windows operating system was anticompetitive.
Representatives from the 19 attorneys general offices that filed the lawsuit will meet in Washington, D.C., tomorrow to consider the offer, according to Dow Jones. The proposal has circulated among them and the Justice Department for the past day or so, according to the report.
West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw told IDG News Service that he had not heard of any settlement discussions, but said any move toward one would have to involve both the state attorneys general and the federal government. "The federal government has carried the load in this case and it would be unseemly not to include it," he said.
Microsoft had no comment when asked whether or not the company is in settlement discussions with government officials. "We believe that we need to proceed in a confidential way in this matter," spokesman Jim Cullinan said.
The Justice Department also had no comment. "This is something that should be worked out solely between the two parties involved," Justice Department spokeswoman Gina Talamona said.
Earlier, Reuters reported that in an interview with David Frost at an investor conference in New York, Bill Gates, chairman and CEO of Microsoft, said the company was currently in talks with the U.S. government in the hopes of coming to a settlement.
Reuters quoted Gates as saying, "There are ongoing discussions and I won't speculate as to the probabilities or anything, but I hope that it does get settled."
