***************** http://cgi.pathfinder.com/netly/opinion/0,1042,1517,00.html The Netly News Network (http://netlynews.com/) October 21, 1997 Bill Gates, the Bully Savior by Declan McCullagh (declan@well.com) When the Justice Department yesterday accused Microsoft of using its operating system near-monopoly to violate the law, the government did more than attack the world's largest software company. It also handed Microsoft's chief competitor, Netscape, a major business -- and political -- victory. Netscape has long been urging the Clinton administration to rein in Bill Gates. For years its lobbyists have bent the ears of powerful Washington policymakers. And, unlike many other Silicon Valley chiefs, Netscape's Jim Barksdale -- a veteran of such highly regulated companies as Federal Express and McCaw Cellular -- appears to truly understand how Washington works. So was Janet Reno motivated by politics, or law? "Fundamentally, I think it's a legal issue," says Ed Black, president of the Computer and Communications Industry Association. "But to say whenever the wealthiest man in America and one of the most powerful companies in America is challenged by a cabinet official, you can't say there's no political impact. You're in a political world at that level." When asked to name the most pressing issues Netscape faces in Washington, company lobbyists rattle off a long list of topics from encryption to copyright and education. But antitrust has always topped the list. This, after all, is the company's primary policy goal: to stop what it considers to be Microsoft's predatory practices. "This is not a Netscape-Microsoft issue," says Netscape's public policy counsel Peter Harter. "This is not a browser war. This is about obeying the law." Perhaps. But clearly Netscape has been complaining to the government about Internet Explorer since the Microsoft browser first hit the Net. Naturally, the company cheered Janet Reno's suggestion that Microsoft be punished with a fine of up to $1 million a day. "We're very supportive of the actions the Department of Justice has taken," Roberta Katz, Netscape's chief counsel, told the Netly News last night. "This lawsuit is about preserving competition as we move to the era of digital commerce." It is, of course, also an efficient way for Netscape to protect its commanding share of the browser market. "Bill Gates is a successful rival who makes it difficult for others to do business. Rather than compete against him head to head in the market, competitors turn to antitrust laws," says Don Boudreaux, a professor of law and economics at Clemson University. "What people at Netscape probably don't like is the fact that Internet Explorer is a good product." Netscape has slowly been emerging as the grand marshal in the Everyone But Microsoft parade. Last year Netscape hired the heavyweight Silicon Valley law firm of Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati, whose partner Gary Reback is a veteran anti-Microsoft campaigner. In November 1994 Reback prepared -- after a request from the Department of Justice, which was investigating Microsoft -- a 100-page white paper on behalf of three anonymous high tech clients. The theme: Microsoft's apparent anticompetitive behavior. [...] ------------------------- Declan McCullagh Time Inc. The Netly News Network Washington Correspondent http://netlynews.com/