After Nine Years, Microsoft's Antitrust Agreement Expires

The U.S. Justice Department said its nine-year-old antitrust agreement with Microsoft Corp., set to expire May 12, permanently changed the software marketplace, making it more open, fair and innovative. The final judgment in the Microsoft case, in effect since 2002, prevented the company from using its monopoly Windows operating system for personal computing to quash competition, the department said today in a statement.