US judge dismisses Microsoft case

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Seattle: A federal judge has dismissed an antitrust case against Microsoft Corp by a company that developed a technology that helps computers read handwriting.

In a ruling on Thursday, US District Judge J Frederick Motz granted Microsoft's request that the lawsuit by 'Go Computer Inc' be dismissed because the antitrust claims are barred by the four-year statute of limitations.

The lawsuit centered on allegations that Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates set out in the early 1990s to discourage other companies from doing business with 'Go'. The case was originally filed in federal court in California, although it was subsequently moved to Maryland.

‘Go’ has similar claims pending in a California state court. Jerry Kaplan founded Go and, in 2005, reacquired the rights to sue on Go's behalf.

Microsoft has settled a number of antitrust lawsuits in recent years, making hefty payouts to rivals such as Real Networks Inc and Sun Microsystems Inc.

However, dealings between the European Union and Microsoft, which is appealing an antitrust ruling there, have turned ugly. And it still faces an antitrust complaint from Novell Inc.