America's No. 1 financial conglomerate

Chapter 310 Joy Turns to Sorrow

On January 27th in Washington, the sky looked as if someone had spilled an ink bottle; thick, impenetrable clouds pressed heavily over the dome, and even the usually chattering crows wisely kept quiet.

This awful weather seems to have even God knowing that a storm big enough to shake the global tech world is about to unfold in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and it's already putting on a show of mourning.

The square outside the courthouse was already packed with media reporters from all over the world.

Photographers carrying long lenses and tripods pointed their lenses at the courthouse entrance, barely daring to breathe, for fear of missing a crucial moment.

The reporters were like sprinters poised to launch, ready to record the first stroke of this trial of the century.

The scene was even more lively than a presidential inauguration, but it lacked the colorful ribbons and cheers, and instead had a tense atmosphere of impending doom.

Inside a heavily guarded conference room inside the courthouse, Microsoft's legal team was conducting their final pre-battle pep talk.

The meeting room lights were glaringly bright, and the legal documents piled on the table were thicker than bricks, reaching up to a person's waist.

Malcolm, Microsoft's chief lawyer, was furrowing his brow as he flipped through documents. The sound of his fingers gliding across the paper was exceptionally clear in the quiet room. His expression suggested that every page held the fate of Microsoft in its hands, and that each additional turn of the page meant grasping at another lifeline.

"Today's opening statement is the first shot that will determine the direction of the entire lawsuit. We must present Microsoft's position to the jury in a clear manner." Malcolm suddenly raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the team members before finally landing on Bill Gates, who was sitting in the corner.

Bill Gates was dressed in a sharp suit, his face expressionless, like a meticulously sculpted wax figure, with only the occasional movement of his eyes proving that he was still thinking.

Malcolm walked over to Bill Gates and whispered, "Remember what we practiced before: for any difficult questions, just say 'I don't remember' or 'I have no recollection.' Don't give them any chance to find an opening. They're like a pack of hungry wolves; they'll pounce and tear at the sight of a drop of blood."

"Furthermore, we must insist on one point: Microsoft is not a monopolist. Our innovations are the engine that drives the entire software industry forward. Without us, everyone would probably still be struggling with a black screen computer."

Malcolm repeated the key points like a broken record, as if afraid that someone might have misremembered them.

The lawyers on the team nodded as they jotted down notes in their notebooks at lightning speed, their fingers almost blurring out of focus.

Just then, the conference room door was gently pushed open, and a young assistant rushed in like a gust of wind, his breath trembling.

He rushed over to Malcolm and whispered a few words in his ear.

Malcolm's already tense face instantly darkened, as if he had been doused with a bucket of ice water.

Bill Gates finally reacted, his brow furrowing slightly as he asked, "What's wrong? What happened?"

Malcolm took a deep breath, his voice heavy with concern. "Google seems to have filed a new lawsuit. The details are unclear, but it's definitely aimed at us. We'll have to be even more careful from now on."

Surprisingly, Bill Gates seemed less nervous after hearing this. He leaned back in his chair and chuckled softly. "A new lawsuit? Could it be any bigger than the issue of monopoly? We'll deal with it as it comes."

Meanwhile, in a completely different conference room at the courthouse, prosecutors from the U.S. Department of Justice were gearing up for a showdown.

Chief Prosecutor David Boyce stood in front of the whiteboard, a marker in his hand, his eyes firm and confident, as if victory was assured.

"I know this lawsuit will be tough. Microsoft's legal team is known in the industry as a very tough nut to crack."

Boyce’s voice was loud and clear, echoing throughout the conference room: “But we have the latest evidence, like holding a sharp knife. No matter what, we have to tear a piece of flesh from Microsoft today and let them know how powerful we are.”

At 9:00 a.m. sharp, the courtroom was already packed, with even the aisles filled with spectators. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the judge's bench at the front of the courtroom, and the air was thick with tension. You could hear a pin drop.

The courtroom doors slowly opened, and Judge Thomas, dressed in a black robe, walked in with steady steps.

His face was expressionless, but his eyes were so sharp they seemed to see right through people. He slowly walked to the judge's bench and sat down. His gaze swept across the entire courtroom before he finally picked up the gavel and tapped it lightly.

With a crisp, powerful "thud," the gavel silenced the noisy courtroom instantly.

"Court is now in session!" Judge Thomas's voice was authoritative and solemn. "This case is a joint antitrust lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and the attorneys general of 20 states against Microsoft."

"First, please have the plaintiff make their opening statement."

David Boyce immediately stood up, straightened his tie, and then walked steadily toward the podium.

He first bowed slightly to the judge and jury, then raised his head, his voice clear and powerful, echoing throughout the courtroom.

"Your Honor, fellow jurors, we stand here today not to target any particular company, but to uphold the principles of free market competition and to protect the legitimate rights and interests of every consumer."

Boyston paused, his gaze shifting to the Microsoft team in the dock, his tone becoming more serious. "Microsoft, as a global software industry giant, holds a dominant position in the operating system field, yet it has failed to shoulder its corresponding responsibilities. Instead, it has used its monopoly to employ a series of unfair competitive tactics to suppress competitors and hinder industry innovation. This has not only harmed the interests of other companies but has also seriously damaged the healthy development of the entire industry."

As he spoke, Boyce gestured to the large screen behind him, and a series of images immediately appeared on the screen.

"Please look at these photos we've collected of the initial computer interfaces from major computer manufacturers across the United States. From these images, we can clearly see that every new computer comes pre-installed with Microsoft's MSN software."

"Microsoft's bundling practices are, frankly, forced sales. They're illegally expanding their market share and further consolidating their monopoly through this method. How are other internet companies supposed to survive? Is this fair?"

He glanced at Microsoft's legal team and Bill Gates, a hint of mockery in his eyes, and continued, "Not only that, according to our investigation, Microsoft also threatened and retaliated against computer manufacturers who tried to cooperate with other software vendors. They would reduce technical support, increase software licensing fees, and even find various excuses to delay cooperation, all to force computer manufacturers to obey and use only their software."

"This behavior completely undermines the fair competition environment in the market and is a blatant trampling on the principles of the free market."

After saying this, Boyce took a deep breath and gestured to the court staff. "Next, I would like to invite our first witness, Mr. Bucksdale, Netscape's legal counsel, to tell us how devastating Microsoft's actions have been to Netscape."

Soon, Mr. Bucksdale entered the courtroom, sat down in the witness stand, took his oath according to procedure, and looked at Boyce.

"Mr. Bucksdale, could you please explain to everyone how Microsoft's actions have affected Netscape's browser business?" Boyce softened his tone, giving Bucksdale time to organize his thoughts.

Bucksdale's voice was somewhat hoarse. "Your Honor, jury members, I want to tell you that Microsoft, in order to suppress our Netscape Navigator browser, deliberately tampered with the internal code of its operating system. This has caused our Netscape Navigator browser to frequently experience problems such as lag and crashes during installation and use, seriously affecting the user experience."

His eyes were filled with helplessness and anger. "Before Microsoft did this, our Netscape Navigator held a dominant position in the market and had an excellent reputation among users. But since they tampered with the code, our market share has plummeted from nearly 90% to less than 50%."

"Although Microsoft later stopped this tampering under public pressure, we had already invested hundreds of millions of dollars in research and development and promotion, and the company's development direction was seriously deviated as a result."

As soon as Bucksdale finished speaking, a murmur arose in the courtroom, and some people cast disapproving glances at the Microsoft team.

Just then, Microsoft's lawyer, Malcolm, suddenly stood up, strode to the podium, and began to cross-examine Bucksdale with a seemingly gentle but actually sharp smile.

"Mr. Bucksdale, I would like to ask you, do you acknowledge that Netscape's declining market share is not solely due to bugs in Microsoft's operating system, but also to problems with your company's own technology and marketing strategies?"

Malcolm immediately played a word game, describing the deliberate code tampering as a bug in the operating system, attempting to subtly change the nature of the matter.

Bucksdale frowned slightly and retorted firmly, "I don't agree with your statement. First of all, this is not a bug at all, but rather a result of someone at Microsoft deliberately modifying the code to make it incompatible with Netscape Navigator. Our technical team has verified this multiple times."

"Secondly, regarding our company's technology and market strategy, Netscape has always been committed to technological innovation. At that time, our browser was clearly superior to Microsoft's Internet Explorer in terms of functionality and performance, which was obvious to all."

Malcolm clearly wasn't going to give up. He pressed on, his tone somewhat suggestive, "Then let me ask you this: before Microsoft launched Internet Explorer, did Netscape ever attempt to monopolize the browser market?"

"This is complete nonsense. We at Netscape have always advocated openness and competition. Our goal is to provide users with a better internet experience. We have never thought about monopolizing the market."

"If that's the case, then why did Netscape react so strongly when new browser vendors entered the market?" Malcolm pressed on, his eyes fixed on Bucksdale, trying to find a clue in his expression.

"I object!" At that moment, David Boyce stood up abruptly and shouted, "The opposing lawyer is distorting the facts. The issue we are discussing is whether Microsoft engaged in unfair competition by modifying code, not Netscape's market practices. Please, defendant, do not stray from the topic."

Judge Thomas frowned and tapped his gavel. "The plaintiff's objection is valid. The defendant's lawyer should be mindful of the direction of his questions and avoid deviating from the core issues of this case."

Malcolm's smile froze for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure and bowed slightly to the judge. "I'm sorry, Your Honor, I will adjust the direction of my questioning."

After saying that, he changed the subject and continued to question Bacchus.

The debate in court became increasingly intense, with both sides exchanging arguments and refusing to back down.

The plaintiff presented one piece of evidence after another in an attempt to prove Microsoft's monopolistic practices, while the defendant constantly refuted them and tried every means to defend Microsoft.

Every question and every answer is like a war without gunfire, with both sides doing their utmost to win the jury's trust.

As witnesses appeared one by one to testify, the atmosphere in the courtroom grew increasingly tense, but the scene gradually became somewhat eerie.

David Boyce pressed on relentlessly, posing increasingly pointed questions, but each time it felt like punching cotton, failing to deliver any real damage to Microsoft.

Bill Gates has always had only one answer to Boyce’s many questions.

"I don't remember."

"I was unaware that Microsoft had made such a decision."

"I have never heard of this."

No matter how much Boyce pressed him, he deftly deflected the questions, refusing to reveal any useful information.

Even Judge Thomas couldn't tolerate Bill Gates's answer and issued a stern rebuke in court, his tone full of dissatisfaction: "Mr. Bill Gates, as the founder of Microsoft, your claim of being completely unaware of important company decisions is clearly illogical. Please answer the questions seriously and don't waste the court's time."

But Bill Gates seemed not to hear him and continued to do as he pleased. Although he answered some questions, he would use "I can't remember" as an excuse whenever he encountered a difficult question.

Boyce strode up to Bill Gates, staring intently at him, his eyes practically blazing with anger. "Mr. Bill Gates, since you remember nothing, let me ask you, what do you have to say about Microsoft bundling MSN into its operating system?"

All eyes in the courtroom were on Bill Gates, waiting to see how he would respond.

Unexpectedly, Bill Gates suddenly smiled slightly, a hint of mockery in his eyes, and slowly said, "Mr. Boyce, you've probably made a mistake."

"We did not bundle MSN because it's not a standalone software; it's a feature within the Windows operating system. Like Notepad and Calculator, it's a built-in system function, so how can it be considered bundled?"

With a loud "boom," the courtroom erupted in chaos!

The jurors whispered amongst themselves, their faces filled with astonishment. The reporters stared wide-eyed, their pens frozen in mid-air, unable to believe what they were hearing.

Some people couldn't help but mutter under their breath, "This works? MSN is clearly an integrated internet software, how did it become a system feature? According to this logic, Microsoft can just plug in any internet product it wants, and then it won't count as bundling anymore?"

One reporter rolled his eyes inwardly and thought to himself, "How shameless! Even he probably doesn't believe that himself."

Surprisingly, after hearing Bill Gates' answer, David Boyce not only didn't get angry, but suddenly laughed. The laugh was somewhat eerie, making Bill Gates feel uneasy, wondering what he was up to.

"Your Honor," Boyce said, his smile fading as he bowed slightly to the bench. "Please allow me to present a new piece of evidence."

After receiving the judge's tacit approval, Boyce nodded to the staff, and a scanned copy of a document immediately appeared on the large screen in the room, with "US Patent No. 5838906" clearly marked at the top.

"As you can see, this is a technology patent from Eolas Technologies, which was acquired by Google."

Boyce pointed to the screen, his voice tinged with pride, "The core of this patented technology is the ability to embed small, interactive software into web pages, primarily used in the online gaming field. Microsoft's practice of bundling MSN into the Windows operating system directly infringes on this patent."

He paused, then turned his gaze to Bill Gates, his tone full of sarcasm, "Mr. Bill Gates has just admitted that MSN is a feature of the Windows operating system, meaning that MSN and Windows are one and the same."

"In that case, we can sue the entire Windows operating system for infringement."

"In other words, from now on, Google can claim exorbitant compensation from Microsoft for every penny it earns through the Windows operating system, based on this patent. And as long as this patent remains valid, Microsoft must either cease using Windows..."

The relevant functions in the operating system either require continuously paying Google.

"Whoosh—" The entire courtroom instantly descended into unprecedented chaos.

The jury members could no longer contain themselves and began to discuss the matter, their voices several times louder than before.

The reporters were so excited they almost jumped for joy, snapping photos frantically, afraid of missing a moment that could make global headlines.

Bill Gates sat there, his smile completely gone. He stared wide-eyed at the patent documents on the big screen, utterly stunned.

He never expected that his triumphant defense would backfire so badly.

Originally, they wanted to get rid of the accusation of bundled sales by talking about system functions, but instead they dragged the entire Windows operating system into the quagmire of patent infringement.

The chaos in the courtroom lasted for several minutes until Judge Thomas struck the gavel again, barely restoring order.

At this point, Microsoft's lawyer, Malcolm, finally realized what was happening. He stood up abruptly, his voice filled with panic and urgency, "I protest! Your Honor, this patent infringement case has nothing to do with the antitrust lawsuit in this case. It belongs to a different category. I request a recess. We need time to prepare our response."

Judge Thomas glanced at his watch, then at the chaotic courtroom and the varied expressions on the faces of both teams, and struck his gavel once. "Given the new circumstances and the expiration of the trial time, today's hearing is adjourned. The trial will resume in two days."

Court adjourned!