State Attorneys General to Coordinate Enforcement Of Microsoft Antitrust Judgments; Offer Online Complaint Form at New Web Site

States involved in enforcing federal court judgments against Microsoft over illegal monopoly conduct announced today the creation of a centralized web site offering an online complaint form to report suspected violations of the final judgments.

The complaint form and consolidated public information on the major antitrust case brought by 18 states and the District of Columbia is available at http://www.microsoft-antitrust.gov. Complaints may be submitted anonymously to the state attorneys general and otherwise will be treated confidentially as directed by U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.

Although the court issued two separate antitrust judgments in the states' case, the states involved have decided to coordinate enforcement of their respective judgments. The states are organized as the "California Group," which sought remedies through litigation, and the "New York Group," which settled its antitrust complaint against Microsoft. The California Group consists of California, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Utah and the District of Columbia. The New York Group consists of Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin.

Through an agreement between these states and the U.S. Department of Justice, complaints submitted to the site may be shared with the U.S. Department of Justice. Complaints may also be sent directly to the U.S. Department of Justice at antitrust.complaints@usdoj.gov.

The states' web site was designed and implemented by the California Department of Justice and will be funded by enforcement funds provided by Microsoft to the "California Group" of states following issuance of the California Group's final judgment.

The court judgments generally prohibit Microsoft from retaliating against computer makers and software companies that offer or consider offering products that compete with Windows; require Microsoft to have uniform contracts with personal computer manufacturers; and require Microsoft to share software information that can be used to develop new software products.

The federal court judgments were issued after 19 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Justice Department went to trial on their antitrust complaint against Microsoft, and proved that the software giant was guilty of using its market dominance in personal computer operating systems to illegally squelch competition.