Microsoft Ordered to Comply; Company Seeks to Have Case Dismissed

U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson today ordered Microsoft Corp. to make both its chairman and its Windows source code available for the antitrust suit facing the software giant.

According to a Reuters report, the Judge ordered Microsoft to make chairman and chief executive Bill Gates and 16 other top company officials available for deposition.

“I do not intend to place a time restraint on the length of time Mr. Gates may be deposed,” Jackson was quoted as saying.

On Tuesday Microsoft lawyers had asked to limit the U.S. government to no more than eight hours of deposition with Gates.

In addition, in another ruling that goes against earlier Microsoft requests, the Judge ordered that the source code for certain versions of the Windows 95 and Windows 98 operating systems also be made available.

Microsoft confirmed today that it would seek dismissal of the entire antitrust case on Monday.

Reuters reported that government lawyer David Boies called the tactic “predictable.”