The nine states suing Microsoft Corp. tried Tuesday to show that company chairman Bill Gates is too extreme in his interpretation of proposed antitrust penalties against his company. Gates said a provision barring retaliation against firms that choose non-Microsoft products is so broad that it would "ban Microsoft from competing in any product category." Gates and Steven Kuney, a lawyer for the states, battled over clauses in the provision, as Kuney tried to box Gates in on an acceptable rewrite. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly is free to impose whatever penalty she sees fit to respond to Microsoft's violations of antitrust law.
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