Microsoft Agrees To Extend Windows Code Licensing
 Microsoft Corp. has agreed to extend one of the key provisions of its landmark 2002 antitrust settlement with the U.S. government, the Justice Department .
Microsoft will continue to license important technical data that competitors need to make their software work well with the Windows server operating system for up to five years beyond 2007, the year the settlement is scheduled to expire, the department said.
In documents filed with the federal judge overseeing the settlement, the department said it had sought the extension because Microsoft had run into "protracted delays" in compiling the data that companies need to take advantage of the program.
Microsoft is required to license the information about its computer operating system to other companies under the terms of the antitrust settlement.
The overall settlement is scheduled to expire after five years with the possibility of a two-year extension. In the documents filed with the court, Microsoft agreed to extend the licensing program for an additional two years, to 2009. It pledged to offer the program for another three years, outside the terms of the settlement.
In February, Microsoft responded to earlier complaints about delays by agreeing to disclose more information about the server operating system.
Source: © REUTERS
| 
