Bill Gates to testify in Microsoft's defense next week

AP Technology WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- Microsoft chairman and co-founder Bill Gates will take the stand in his company's defense next week in an attempt to stave off harsh antitrust penalties sought by nine states.

It will be the first time Gates testifies in the historic four-year case. Gates was questioned during the liability trial before U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson. That videotaped deposition was used extensively by David Boies, who handled the case for the Justice Department, but Gates never took the witness stand in court.

The video clips appeared to have a strong effect on Jackson. In an interview released shortly after he ruled that Microsoft broke several antitrust laws, Jackson said Microsoft executives behaved like children, and singled out Gates.

"I think he has a Napoleonic concept of himself and his company, an arrogance that derives from power and unalloyed success, with no leavening hard experience, no reverses," Jackson said. That interview, among others, contributed to Jackson's removal from the case.

According to court documents, Gates will testify about the history of the personal computer industry, and how the penalties proposed by the states would hurt Microsoft and consumers. He will also talk about how the company is complying with a federal antitrust settlement reached last year.

Gates also was deposed by lawyers for the states before the current hearing began in March. Requests from media organizations, including The Associated Press, to release that interview have been denied.

The case will enter its sixth week on Monday. Gates is to testify on that day after lawyers for the states finish questioning another Microsoft executive, David Cole.

The nine states want U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to force Microsoft to create a modular version of its flagship Windows software that could incorporate competitors' features. The states also want Microsoft to divulge blueprints for its Internet Explorer browser.

The federal government and nine other states settled their antitrust case against Microsoft last year for lesser penalties.

The original judge in the case, Jackson, ordered Microsoft broken into two companies after concluding that it illegally stifled competitors. An appeals court reversed the breakup order and appointed Kollar-Kotelly to determine new punishment.

The choice to put Gates on the stand could be a risky one for Microsoft. Many of the most damaging statements and e-mails during the liability phase of the trial came from Gates himself, and he has a reputation of being easily frustrated with people who are not technically savvy.

The states have subpoenaed many e-mails from and to Gates and other Microsoft officials in the current proceeding.

Other Microsoft executives who will probably testify next week include Chris Jones and Rob Short, who work on the Windows operating system.

Executives from other companies defended Microsoft earlier this week. They said that the stability of the Windows operating system is essential to the personal computer industry. However, several of them served as little more than character witnesses, as they said they had not read the states' penalties or the federal settlement.

States that rejected the government's settlement with Microsoft and are continuing to pursue the antitrust case are Iowa, Utah, Massachusetts, Connecticut, California, Kansas, Florida, Minnesota and West Virginia, along with the District of Columbia.

------On the Net:

Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com

National Association of Attorneys General: http://www.naag.org