Microsoft chief Mr Bill Gates has hailed yesterday's court approval of his antitrust deal with the US government as "fair" and vowed that his firm would stick to the terms of the landmark pact.
But the global software giant's competitors slammed the deal as "extremely disappointing" while a group of US states that had held out against the agreement refused to rule out appealing the decision.
Proclaiming the ruling unveiled by a federal judge in the US capital as a "milestone," Mr Gates told a press conference at Microsoft's US headquarters that it would allow him to focus on next generation technology.
"We believe that settlement we have reached ... represents a fair settlement of this case," the billionaire tycoon said. "It's a major milestone."
Mr Gates, who is listed as the world's richest man, said that his firm would bow to the new restrictions placed on it by the deal in the case in which Microsoft was charged with crushing its competitors.
"This settlement puts new responsibilities on Microsoft and we accept them," he said stressing that much had changed in the fast-moving industry in the four years since the legal battle began.
"We recognise that we will be closely scrutinized by the government and our competitors. We will devote the time energy and resources needed to meet these new rules. I am personally committed to full compliance."
The settlement, which Microsoft said was a - "tough, but fair, compromise" - reached between the government and Microsoft in November last year and conditionally approved yesterday, imposes no financial penalty.
Instead, it forces Microsoft to disclose some technical information and bars agreements on Microsoft products that would exclude competitors, steps that Mr Gates said the company had already begun to take.
The company's industry competitors were however bitter over the ruling which they said neither levelled the playing field nor restored fair competition in the market.
Mr Mike Pettit, president of ProComp, a trade group backed by Microsoft rivals, said the group was "extremely disappointed" by the ruling.
"This represents a systemic failure of the legal system, a failure to protect consumers, competition, and companies like Netscape whose innovations literally changed the world."
Media giant AOL Time Warner vowed that its battle to restrain Microsoft's grip on the global software market would continue.
Officials from nine hold-out states and the District of Columbia had fought in vain for tougher penalties against Microsoft said no decision had been made whether to appeal the ruling, but did not rule out such a move.
AFP