Shareholders in Microsoft Corp gave the company’s executives an ovation when they appeared at the annual general meeting, and little wonder. Antitrust trial aside, Microsoft has increased its share price by 60% since last year’s AGM. Judge Jackson’s findings of fact did, however, dominate the proceedings. Chairman Bill Gates asked shareholders not to look in a very superficial way for someone to blame or some way things could’ve been differently… I’m quite pleased with the work that’s been done there. Like Ballmer, who wrote an aggressive editorial in the Wall Street Journal earlier this week, Gates maintains an positive stance. I still believe that the American legal system, at the end of the day, will recognize that Microsoft’s innovations and behavior were completely fair and brought tremendous benefits to millions of consumers, he told his audience.
That said, Gates did not rule out the possibility of a settlement. That’s very important to us and we’ve put a lot of energy into that, he said. Resolving the case would be good for Microsoft and it also would be good for consumers, the industry and the economy as a whole. Any settlement Microsoft would accept would, however, have to acknowledge what the company calls its freedom to innovate. We’re willing to go a long way to address the government’s concerns, Gates said, but if we can’t add internet support, we can’t add any new features. If we can’t define the user experience of Windows so that all Windows machines operate the same way, then the Windows brand becomes absolutely meaningless. No company should accept these kinds of limitations to their ability to innovate, and that’s what’s at the heart of this case.
