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Sun granted injunction against Microsoft
We detail the the landmark ruling and its requirements
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Sun's suit alleges that Microsoft violated the terms of its Java licensing contract by releasing products that are incompatible with Sun's Java specifications. Microsoft did this, according to Sun, because it felt threatened by Java and wanted to disrupt its ability to build software programs that run on any operating system.
Microsoft denies the charges, and argues that its use of Java has been within the terms of its contract.
"While this case proceeds through the court, we'll continue to use our enormous energy in the marketplace -- as will the other companies that are the cornerstones of the Java technology industry -- to deliver high performing Java technology that outperforms Microsoft's incompatible technology," Baratz said in a statement. "We'll continue to deliver technologies such as the Java Plug-In that gives developers and users the choice to replace Microsoft's polluted technology with Sun's compatible Java technology," he added.
"This could create a logistical nightmare for Microsoft if it has to comply in three months with that kind of an order," said Dwight Davis, a Kirkland, Wash., analyst at Summit Strategies. "This [applies to] anything shipping with Internet Explorer and its so-called Java technology -- and that is just about everything."
Davis added, however, that there's still hope for Microsoft, which may appeal Tuesday's ruling.
"[Microsoft] could present a hardship case in court that an appeals court might like," Davis said.
One option Microsoft could have in order to avoid Sun's charge that its Java products do not comply is to simply drop the name "Java" from its packaging and marketing materials. However, Davis pointed out that such a move would create some obvious problems for Visual J++, the company's Java development tool. Microsoft often boasts that Visual J++ is the most popular Java tool on the market, and that its implementation of the Java virtual machine is the industry's fastest.
About the author
Eric Armstrong has been programming and writing professionally since before there were personal computers. His production experience includes artificial intelligence (AI) programs, system libraries, real-time programs, and business applications in a variety of languages. He contracts at Sun's Java Software division and at other companies around the Bay Area, and he is a regular contributor to JavaWorld. His book, The JBuilder2 Bible, is now available from IDG Books. James Niccolai is a San Francisco correspondent for the IDG News Service, an InfoWorld affiliate. Additional reporting by InfoWorld Senior Editor Bob Trott, based in Seattle, WA. Michael O'Connell, JavaWorld editor-in-chief, contributed to this report.- Feedback
Resources
- Sun statement recourt ruling in response to Sun's motions for preliminary injunction in Sun v Microsoft suit http://java.sun.com/lawsuit/111798statement.html
- Microsoft Responds in Sun Lawsuit http://msdn.microsoft.com/visualj/lawsuitruling.asp
- Java developers await Microsoft's response to injunction (InfoWorld) http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayStory.pl?981118.ecjavareax.htm
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