August, 1996 - Silicon Valley companies complain to US Justice department about unfair practices by Microsoft.
October, 1997 - Department of Justice files a suit charging Microsoft with violation of a 1994 consent decree, by only licensing Windows 95 to computer makers on condition they include Microsoft's Internet browser software, Explorer.
December, 1997 - District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson issues an injunction prohibiting Microsoft from forcing PC makers to ship Explorer with each Windows 95 machine.
May 1998 - An appeals court panel rules the injunction does not apply to Windows 98, scheduled for shipment that month. US and states prosecutors delay filing of lawsuits.
October 19th, 1998 - The Department of Justice and 20 US states open their antitrust case against Microsoft.
November 2nd, 1998 - The US Government introduces several dozen pages of Microsoft emails supporting claims that Microsoft urged Apple Computer to abandon two key Internet software technologies and instead promote Microsoft's products, in particular its Explorer browser.
November 16th, 1998 - Microsoft chairman Mr Bill Gates begins videotaped testimony with government lawyers, but comes across as so uncooperative and forgetful, Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson appears bemused.
December 7th, 1998 - South Carolina stands down from the antitrust case, following America Online's bid to acquire Netscape Communications, concluding "competition is alive and well" in the technology industry.
January 25th, 1999 - Microsoft executive Mr Paul Maritz testifies that Microsoft tried to persuade Intel and RealNetworks not to compete against it in critical software markets.
February 3rd, 1999 - Microsoft, in a videotape demonstration of how Windows 98 is affected by removing its Internet Explorer Web browser, shows it had used several computers, where it had originally said only one computer was used in the test.
February 10th, 1999 - Microsoft vice president Mr Cameron Myhrvold acknowledges that the company applied pressure on certain Internet service providers to promote Microsoft's Internet browser because many consumers, if given a choice, would have selected a rival product.
February 23rd, 1999 - Mr Dan Rosen, Microsoft's general manager for new technology, admits the software giant offered rival Netscape Communications "several inducements" to stop competing in the Internet browser market.
March 30th, 1999 - Microsoft lawyers meet with the Justice Department and 19 states in a failed attempt to settle the antitrust case.
June 14th, 1999 - Microsoft argues that it faces a competitive threat from America Online that makes antitrust allegations irrelevant.
November 5, 1999 - Judge issues "findings of fact", concluding that Microsoft is a monopoly that has used its market power and profits to stifle competition.
