| 
 Fresh from its victory in a four-year antitrust battle with the government, Microsoft won an early round yesterday in related private lawsuits by consumers and competitors, including Netscape Communications. 
A federal judge in Baltimore denied Netscape's request to hold Microsoft liable for damaging its Internet browser business. Netscape, a unit of AOL Time Warner, cited court findings in the government's antitrust case that the world's largest software maker illegally protected its Windows monopoly.
 
         |