Microsoft Settles $200m Lawsuits

Microsoft yesterday said it had reached a $200m settlement of class action antitrust lawsuits in six additional American states.

The agreements mean that the software firm has now settled complaints with 10 states for a total of $1.5bn, leaving just five more actions pending.

As it approaches the first anniversary of its landmark settlement with the justice department, Microsoft is working overtime to clear up the outstanding allegations that claim it abused its dominant position in personal computing.

Class actions in 17 other states have either been dismissed or had class certification denied. It has also settled with two of the four "competitor cases": Time Warner and Be Inc. Cases filed by Sun Microsystems and Burst.com are still outstanding.

"We have been working hard to put the legal conflicts of the past behind us," said Microsoft general counsel, Brad Smith. "We need to focus not only on resolving these lawsuits but on building more collaborative relationships with the rest of our industry and with people in government."

The software firm has also addressed consumer complaints. The federal court has dismissed claims from three broad coalitions - indirect purchasers, foreign purchasers and volume licensees - and Microsoft has paid $10.5m to settle a suit brought on behalf of US customers who bought software directly from the firm instead of through retailers.

The settlement of outstanding legal action will free Microsoft to begin spending its massive cash pile. Microsoft will provide vouchers for customers to buy hardware, operating systems, training and software - partly directed toward schools.