Microsoft has a chance to fight monopoly verdict

Microsoft last week won its right to appeal against the judgement imposed on it by the US government.

Microsoft last week won its right to appeal against the judgement imposed on it by the US government. Last June, the government ruled the software giant had used its monopoly position in the market to compete illegally and should therefore be split up.

The company's shares soared after a jury voted in favour of the appeal against Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's ruling.

The decision from the jury quashed a plan by the US Justice Department to push the case through a 'fast-track' system.

The Justice Department argued that the health of the US economy and the IT industry rested on a quick end to the case, which first went under investigation in September 1996.

But the only Supreme Court judge to agree was Justice Stephen Breyer, who claimed the case "significantly affected" the part of the economy which is "characterised by rapid technological change".

The US Court of Appeals has already overruled previous Judge Jackson rulings against Microsoft. The case could end up back at the Supreme Court once again, which could add up to two more years to its duration.

A Microsoft representative stressed the company's confidence following the approval. She said: "Microsoft is confident of its case and looks forward to presenting its arguments to the Court of Appeals.

"It is in the best interests of Microsoft, its customers and the entire industry to put this issue behind us."