NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Microsoft Corp. said Monday it has begun implementing some of the provisions of its federal antitrust settlement even though the case still is making its way through the courts.
The software maker said it will begin disclosing more of the source code for various versions of the Windows computer operating system.
Some of the technical data for desktop operating systems will be released online this month for free. Other data designed for large "server" computers that run networks will require a licensing fee.
"Microsoft is obligated as a company to continue to move forward to meet our obligations under the agreement, even as we are waiting for a final decision," Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith said on a conference call Monday.
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The technical information Microsoft is revealing will help software makers write programs that work as well with Windows as Microsoft's own products do.
The U.S. Justice Department filed its antitrust suit against Microsoft (MSFT: down $0.23 to $44.18, Research, Estimates) in 1997. In 2000, a federal district court judge ruled that Microsoft illegally protected its operating system monopoly and ordered the company broken up as a remedy to prevent future violations.
After a lengthy process, a federal appeals court last summer upheld the ruling that Microsoft had broken antitrust laws, but it overturned the breakup order.
Microsoft and the Justice Department reached a settlement last November. Nine of the states that had joined the Justice Department in its case have signed off on that settlement but nine others, along with the District of Columbia, have not.
Among other things, the non-settling states want the court to force Microsoft to offer a stripped-down version of its Windows operating system that enables PC makers to remove features such as Web browsers and digital media players. They also want to expand the amount of source code Microsoft will be required to disclose.
A series of court hearings earlier this summer were held as part of the "remedy phase" of the trial, intended to determine what restrictions and requirements the court ultimately will impose on Microsoft's business practices to prevent future antitrust violations.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, the latest judge to preside over the case, gave few hints about the direction in which she is leaning, and she is not expected to return her final decision until late this summer or early in the fall.
Microsoft also said it is moving forward with previously scheduled moves to comply with the settlement. The company said it will finish work on a new update to Windows this month that will allow computer users to hide some functions of Windows, like the media player, Web browser or mail program.
That concession was made in response to concerns that Microsoft's dominance in the PC operating system market allows it to promote its own software more heavily, giving it an unfair advantage over competing software makers like RealNetworks (RNWK: up $0.04 to $3.85, Research, Estimates) and America Online (AOL: down $0.42 to $9.88, Research, Estimates), which is part of the same conglomerate that owns CNN/Money.
Microsoft also said Monday that new Windows license contracts with computer makers go into effect this month. Microsoft had been accused of using its licensing provisions to reward "good partners," while punishing those that did not accede to Microsoft's wishes.
-- from staff and wire reports
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