Washington, DC, November 1, 2001 – According to a torrent of leaks this morning, the Department of Justice, Microsoft, and state attorneys general are in final negotiations this week to settle the government’s longstanding antitrust suit against the world’s largest software company.  Racing to meet a court-ordered Friday deadline, Microsoft is struggling to salvage as much market autonomy as possible while a split is reportedly emerging between Bush administration antitrust officials and several of the more aggressive state attorneys general who may choose to pursue their own cases against Microsoft or challenge the agreement if it doesn’t meet their standards.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

The experts of the Competitive Enterprise Institute have been tracking and analyzing about the Microsoft antitrust suit since its inception, and are available to provide perspective and context for the settlement negotiations.  Also, for a rapid analysis when the details of the settlement are announced, contact the media relations department at 202-331-1010.

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