Microsoft: States Lack Oversight Extension Proof

In a filing with Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on Friday, Microsoft said that the US states requesting a five-year extension of the company's antitrust oversight have failed to back up their claims that such an oversight was warranted. The states were given their own extension from November 2007 to January 2008 to provide the judge with evidence that such a dramatic step was necessary.

The states that seek a five-year extension of Microsoft's antitrust oversight aren't just opposed by Microsoft, however. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed its own motion in November, noting that the states provided "inadequate and mutually inconsistent arguments to justify extension of the Final Judgment." Microsoft's arguments against the extension closely parallel those of the DOJ.

Kollar-Kotelly previously said that she would rule on the extension request in early 2008. Microsoft's antitrust oversight was previously scheduled to end in November.