Fine Line Between Settlement And Bribe In Microsoft's Anti-Trust Suit

from the quite-a-deal dept

Earlier this month, there was a lot of news over the Computer and the Communications Industry Association's anti-trust settlement with Microsoft. Microsoft agreed to pay up $19.8 million. However, what wasn't covered was what happened to all of that money. It turns out that nearly half of it, $9.8 million is going straight into the CCIA President's pockets. As a reward for settling with Microsoft, he gets to keep half the settlement. No wonder the CCIA was willing to stop pursuing a whole variety of lawsuits around the world aimed at Microsoft's anti-trust practices. You could understand a settlement where those who were harmed by Microsoft's actions share in the settlement, but when the guy who negotiated the settlement ends up with $9.8 million, it starts to look suspiciously like a payoff more than a settlement.

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