Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said Friday his company would like to settle a government antitrust case against it in light of an appeals court ruling overturning an order to break up the software giant.
"We don't think that extensive litigation and the resources that it involves are any good to anyone," Gates told ABC news.
"Microsoft is very open to the idea of a settlement, so we'll see if there is a possibility."
Thursday's ruling by the US Court of Appeals in Washington upheld Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's ruling that the company had acted as an illegal monopoly, but rejected his order that the company be broken up.
The appeals court also removed Jackson from the case, saying he violated judicial ethics in discussing the case with reporters.
US government lawyers said the ruling upheld the core issue that Microsoft violated the law. They said they would study the 125-page ruling before deciding what to do -- WASHINGTON (AFP)
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