AOL asks appeals court to make 'forward-looking remedy'

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by Patrick Thibodeau

(IDG) -- America Online isn't willing to let bygones be bygones in the antitrust case against Microsoft and is urging the U.S. Court of Appeals to impose a "forward-looking remedy" on Microsoft, the company said in a legal paper filed Wednesday.

In its brief, AOL asked the court to allow it to file another brief in support of the government's case, as did a number of trade groups that also support the government's action, including the Software & Information Industry Association, the Computer & Communications Industry Association and the Project to Promote Competition & Innovation in the Digital Age.

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In court papers filed earlier this week, Microsoft opposed the multiple amicus curiae, or friend-of-the-court briefs, arguing that it would be "unfair" to the company and "unduly burdensome" to the court.

Instead, Microsoft is urging the court to follow through with its suggestion that opponents file a single, combined brief. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice and a group of states involved in the case against Microsoft said in a short filing that the appeals court should allow "any amicus filings that it would find helpful."

AOL acquired Netscape Communications in 1999 during the trial. Microsoft's actions toward Netscape's browser were at the heart of the government's claim that the company used its monopoly power in operating systems to thwart potential rivals.

In its brief, AOL said it is "uniquely positioned" to respond to arguments that U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's ruling against Microsoft earlier this year only concerns conduct that is "simply a matter of the past that does not justify the imposition of an effective forward-looking remedy."

"We believe that AOL's perspective, as a leader in the development of the Internet and the owner of Netscape, would be an important contribution to this court's evaluation of the appropriateness of the district court's judgment and remedy," said AOL.

In June, Jackson ruled that Microsoft broke antitrust laws and ordered that the company be split in two, dividing its applications business from its operating systems unit. The company is now appealing that decision before the appeals court, which took on the case after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the government's request that it directly hear the appeal.

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