From...

September 8, 1999
Web posted at: 3:53 p.m. EDT (1953 GMT)

by Marc Ferranti

MESSAGE BOARDS: Microsoft

(IDG) -- Sun Microsystems Inc. Friday filed two motions with Federal District Court in San Jose, Calif., seeking reinstatement of an injunction against Microsoft Corp. that was remanded by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in August.

The motions and accompanying briefs are under seal at this time, according to a memorandum sent to journalists by Sun spokeswoman Elizabeth McNichols.

The appeals court two weeks ago agreed with Microsoft's contention that the district court erred when it granted Sun a preliminary injunction (see "Java court decision resolves little," link below). The injunction, awarded in November 1998, prevented Microsoft from using a version of Java in its software that wasn't fully compatible with Sun's. The injunction was awarded as part of Sun's ongoing lawsuit against Microsoft, filed in 1997, in which Sun is claiming that Microsoft "polluted" the Java programming language in a bid to undermine its success.

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While agreeing with the district court that Sun is likely to prevail in its suit, the appeals court nevertheless said the districts court's decision on granting an injunction needed further explanation.

Also on Friday, Sun and Microsoft participated in a status conference with District Judge Ronald Whyte concerning the appeals court's remand of his injunction decision, according to McNichols' memo. The focus of the status conference was to schedule briefings in advance of an Oct. 15 hearing on the motions, according to McNichols.