U.S. Supreme Court turns down Microsoft appeal of antitrust lawsuit brought by Novell

19 years ago

“The Supreme Court on Monday handed Microsoft Corp. a defeat by refusing to rule on the software giant’s request to halt an antitrust suit against it,” Christopher S. Rugaber reports for The Associated Press.

“The suit was brought in 2004 by Waltham, Mass.-based Novell Inc., which said in court papers that Microsoft “deliberately targeted and destroyed” its WordPerfect and QuattroPro programs in order to protect its Windows operating system monopoly,” Rugaber reports.

“Novell alleged that Microsoft targeted the programs because they could run on alternative operating systems and therefore could enable alternatives to Windows to gain market share,” Rugaber reports.

“Microsoft argued in court filings that Novell did not compete in the operating systems market, and therefore cannot claim to have been harmed by alleged anticompetitive conduct by Microsoft in that market,” Rugaber reports. “A federal district court and the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Richmond, Va., sided with Novell and allowed the suit to proceed.”