Microsoft Corp named three outside directors to oversee compliance with a judge's antitrust decree that the the software giant give computer makers freedom to promote rival products.
The appointments were announced as Microsoft and the government put the finishing touches on the settlement, accepting changes suggested by US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly when she approved the agreement a week ago.
"Microsoft shall begin complying" with the accord "as if it was in full force and effect," the government and the company said in a stipulation filed with the court along with a final copy of the decree for the judge's signature.
When she approved the settlement of the 4-year-old antitrust case, Kollar-Kotelly also ordered Microsoft to appoint a committee of directors to ensure the company obeys provisions of her decrees. The settlement was reached last year after an appeals court ruled Microsoft illegally protected its Windows monopoly for personal computer operating software.
Microsoft named Harvard University business professor James I. Cash Jr. to chair the compliance committee, which also will include directors Ann McLaughlin Korologos, a former US labor secretary, and Raymond V. Gilmartin, chairman and chief executive officer of Merck & Co. Korologos is married to Tom C. Korologos, a Republican lobbyist in Washington.
In the Nov. 1 decision, Kollar-Kotelly gave Microsoft's board 30 days to appoint the committee consisting of outside directors.
The panel must hire a compliance officer who, in turn, will report directly to Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer.
"The board recognizes the importance of full compliance with the final judgment entered by the court," Cash said in a statement. "This committee will take its responsibilities very seriously, and is committed to meeting the obligations outlined in the court's final judgment."
The judge warned the company that she would hold board members, especially those like Chairman Bill Gates who testified in her courtroom, responsible for implementing remedies sought by nine states that challenged the settlement. The judge rejected most of the states' proposals.
The compliance committee was one of provisions she added to the settlement, which requires Microsoft to allow computer manufacturers to hide access to programs such as Internet Explorer to promote rival software.
Microsoft's' compliance officer must report any violations of the order to the nine states that sought tougher remedies, the judge said. The company also must certify to the states annually during the five-year decree that it is in compliance, the judge said.
Quoting from Machiavelli's The Prince, the judge said "Let it not be said of Microsoft that `a prince never lacks legitimate reasons to break his promise.'"
She warned that "this court will exercise its full panoply of powers to ensure that the letter and spirit of this remedial decree are carried out."
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