Microsoft details progress in antitrust compliance

Microsoft has begun to take steps to prevent antitrust settlement violations, including employee training programs, as part of the agreement it reached with the U.S. government last November.

Microsoft has begun to take steps to prevent antitrust settlement violations, including employee training programs, as part of the agreement it reached with the U.S. government last November.

Microsoft detailed the measures in a joint status report it filed with plaintiffs in the case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Thursday. The software giant also took pains to outline information sharing agreements between the parties that protect its proprietary information from leaking to the public.

The status report is presumably the first of many to be filed in the wake of the landmark antitrust case, in which the software maker was found to be a monopoly. As part of the settlement deal, Microsoft now has to put a series of protections in place, including unbundling its middleware, sharing some source code and taking an even-handed approach with PC makers.

The company is also taking internal steps, such as providing antitrust training to employees, to prevent future violations and to ensure that it meets stipulations under the settlement.

Microsoft said in the filing Thursday that it has established an antitrust compliance committee of the board of directors, appointed a compliance officer, provided required annual antitrust training for officers and established a Web site for third-party complaints.

Additionally, the company said that it has implemented “extensive training programs to ensure that Microsoft employees are aware of the company’s obligations under the final settlement.”

Microsoft has conducting training sessions for its legion of approximately 400 in-house legal staff, as well as for some 10,000 employees worldwide.

Microsoft is also developing plans for sustained training and suggested that compliance status reports be made to the court every six months.

The Redmond, Washington, software maker made sure to outline strict information sharing practices, however, that would protect its proprietary information.

In the filing, the plaintiffs stated that they would “take all the necessary precautions to ensure that any information received regarding Microsoft’s compliance with the final judgment will be given the highest degree on confidentiality protection available.”