Microsoft Corp and the Justice Department have each made public their list of witnesses for the upcoming antitrust trial against the software giant. A major surprise is that even as Microsoft plans to call eight of its own executives to the witness stand, neither side intends to put chief executive Bill Gates in the hot seat. The selection of witnesses offers the public a glimpse into the tack each side will take during the trial, which is slated to begin September 23. The government will produce a wide range of industry executives in its attempt to provide a broad picture of monopolistic and predatory behavior by the company; while Microsoft will rely heavily on testimony from insiders, who will argue that the company’s overall strategy was well thought out and in the best interest of consumers. To support its recently expanded allegations of illegal dealings with customers and competitors, the DOJ will produce senior executives from Netscape Communications Corp, IBM Corp, America Online Inc, Intel Corp, Intuit Inc and Boeing Co. Microsoft, in addition its own executives, will call on witnesses from two of its closest allies, Compaq Computer Corp and Rational Software Corp. Both sides also plan to call expert technical witnesses. Separately, Microsoft filed a brief on Tuesday reiterating its stance that the Justice Department’s case against the company is groundless and that it should be dismissed without going to trial. In the filing, the company charged that the expanded allegations the DOJ brought about last week constitute an attempt to re-write the case on the eve of the trial and should be seen as proof that the government had lost faith in the strength of the original case filed last spring. The full Justice Department witness list is as follows: James Barksdale, CEO, Netscape; David Colburn, Senior VP, America Online; David Farber, Professor of Telecommunication Systems, University of Pennsylvania; Edward Felten, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Princeton University; Franklin Fisher, Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; William Harris, President, Intuit; Steven McGeady, VP, Content Group, Intel; David Sibley, Professor of Economics, University of Texas; John Soyring, Director, Network Computer Services, IBM; Scott Vesey, Senior Administrator, Boeing; Frederick Warren Bolton, Principal, Microeconomic Consulting Research & Associates and Glenn Weadock, President, Independent Software. Microsoft’s list is comprised of: Richard Schmalensec, Professor of Economics and Management, MIT; Michael Dertouzos, Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, MIT; Paul Maritz, Group VP, Platforms and Applications, Microsoft; James Allchin, Senior VP, Personal and Business Systems, Microsoft; Joachim Kempin, Senior VP, OEM Sales, Microsoft; Brad Chase, VP, Developer Relations & Windows Marketing, Microsoft; Cameron Myhrvold, VP, Internet Customer Unit, Strategic Relations, Microsoft; Yusuf Mehdi, Director, Windows Marketing, Microsoft; William Poole, Senior Director, Business Development, Microsoft; Daniel Rosen, General Manager, New Technology, Microsoft; John Rose, Senior VP, Compaq and Michael Devlin, President, Rational Software.
