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But Microsoft contends that Netscape has been losing market share not because of unfair competition but because it cannot hold its own against steadily improving versions of Internet Explorer. "The goal of antitrust law is not to prop up competitors," says Robert Levy, a Cato Institute analyst and Microsoft supporter. As for the critical "Don Corleone" June 21 meeting, Microsoft says Netscape's account is "fantastical." During his cross-examination of Barksdale, Warden charged that Andreessen "imagined or invented a proposal to divide markets" and that Netscape "signed on to that imaginary concoction" to prop up the Justice Department's case.
Microsoft scored some points of its own in the first week. In three days of cross-examining Barksdale, Warden drew blood when he produced a secret e-mail written by Netscape co-founder James Clark to a Microsoft executive. Clark wrote that Netscape never intended to compete with Microsoft, and he invited the company to invest in his company. Barksdale said the e-mail dated back to Netscape's early days, when it seemed the company might go under, and Clark sent it without notifying him or the Netscape board. Still, Clark's plea undercut the government's contention that Microsoft had rapaciously forced itself on an unwilling Netscape.
As the trial enters Week Two, the Justice Department shows no sign of letting up on Gates. He is not on either side's witness list, but the government has announced that it plans to play eight hours of Gates' 20-hour video deposition this week. Microsoft blasted the Justice Department's ploy as an attempt to distract the court from the problems with Barksdale's testimony and to hide the real issues in the case. But the government is intent on keeping the focus squarely on its target. Eight hours of video Gates may seem a lot, but Justice is clearly betting that the devil will be in the details.
--With reporting by Declan McCullagh