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Microsoft not clear yet
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November 5, 2001: 4:13 p.m. ET
Some states are divided on whether or not to sign DOJ settlement.
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NEW YORK (CNNmoney) - In a potential setback to Microsoft, divisions are emerging between the 18 states suing the software maker concerning whether or not to sign on to the settlement reached Friday between the company and the United States Department of Justice.
A source told Reuters news service at least two states who led the case against Microsoft (MSFT: up $1.87 to $63.27, Research, Estimates) - New York and Connecticut - were nearly ready to sign the Justice Department agreement.
But the settlement issue was turning into a tug-of-war with some other key states, such as Massachusetts and possibly California, strongly opposed to the deal signed by Microsoft and the federal government, which was unveiled on Friday.
Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly said late Monday he would not support the federal settlement and that he and other attorneys general are prepared to ask a federal judge to impose a remedy that is harsher than the one Microsoft hammered out with the U.S. Justice Department. He said the current agreement is "riddled with exceptions."
"It's hard to believe the (Justice Department) would enter into an agreement like this," Reilly said at a Boston press conference Monday. "But apparently they have."
The pro-settlement and anti-settlement camps have both been working to win other states over to their point of view, sources told Reuters.
The states are expected to make a final decision on the proposed settlement Monday and report to U.S. district court judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly Tuesday morning.
The state attorneys general have been Microsoft's harshest critics throughout the three-year case. Their opposition caused the collapse last year of a previous round of settlement talks.
The proposed settlement is designed to allow personal computer makers the ability to install non-Microsoft software on new products and to remove access to the company's competing features. The agreement also prohibits retaliation against firms that take advantage of the freedoms, bans exclusive contracts, and requires Microsoft to disclose technical information so that other companies may design competing products.
Meanwhile, the ongoing case with the states is not Microsoft's only legal problem. The Redmond, Wash.-based software maker also faces a European probe. The European Commission said Monday its investigation of Microsoft was continuing despite the settlement announced in the U.S. last week. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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