Hoping to turn the tables in a federal antitrust trial, Microsoft lawyers yesterday sought to show that rival Netscape had attempted the same kind of "market division" that prompted the Justice Department to move against their company.
Documents presented on Wednesday in the trial before US District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson suggested Netscape and America Online were working on an alliance in late 1995 that would have excluded competition against each other.
The heart of the government's case against Microsoft is an alleged offer by Microsoft to Netscape in June 1995 to carve up the Internet browser market in a bid to extend its near monopoly in certain types of software.
But Microsoft contended that the proposed AOL-Netscape deal, which was never consummated and would have violated US antitrust law, was essentially the same kind of arrangement.
Asked yesterday about what was presented as a market division proposal, AOL senior vice-president Mr David Colburn told Microsoft lead attorney Mr John Warden: "Division of markets is your verbiage, not mine.
"We were looking for a strategic relationship (with Netscape). It was driven in part by the Microsoft threat."
Mr Colburn, called as a government witness to describe alleged pressure from Microsoft, has described the AOL-Microsoft alliance as a reluctant relationship.
He suggested in earlier testimony that AOL had been forced to work with Microsoft, whose Windows operating system is now used in 90 per cent of personal computers worldwide, in order to remain a visible part of the Windows "desktop" that users see when they turn on their machines.
Netscape's Internet browser, Navigator, is the principal competitor for Microsoft's Explorer.
Mr Colburn acknowledged that AOL had discussed plans with Netscape after its deal with Microsoft had been signed in March 1996.
Presented with documents on the proposed AOL-Netscape deal, Mr Colburn in testimony on Wednesday said the plan called for Netscape to stay out of AOL's business of online services and for AOL not to produce an Internet browser that would compete with Netscape's Navigator.
