November 5, 2003

Not A Bad Sound Bite

The press stories on yesterday's appellate arguments in the Microsoft antitrust case focused on snippets from the main actors -- Robert Bork for CCIA and SIIA and Brad Smith for Microsoft -- but I managed to land one sound bite of my own. I think it captures what the appeals court will be grappling with as it decides this landmark case. Microsoft Penalties: Tough Enough? [cbsnews.com]. Problem is, though, that most people, perhaps even judges included, have the impression that the case is dead and buried as a result of the government's 2001 settlement. Not true, but a hard public perception to overcome, nonetheless. As Dan Gilmore wrote,

Corporate lawbreaking is now so unremarkable, and America's collective attention span so short, that the probable last gasp of the Microsoft antitrust case has come and gone without much notice. Maybe you're bored with it, too, but this case still matters.

He's right about the attention span, wrong about the "last gasp," and plainly right that the case still matters.

 Posted by glenn

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