A judge gave his final approval this week to the US$1.1 billion California antitrust settlement with Microsoft that was first brokered in early 2003, opening the way for some 14 million consumers and businesses in the state to file claims and receive a piece of the pie.
California Superior Court Judge Paul Alvarado signed off on the agreement, according to the law firm Townsend and Townsend and Crew, which fought the class-action case.
The dollar amount of the settlement -- by far the largest of any of the states with which Microsoft has settled -- is 'fair, reasonable, and adequate compensation,' Alvarado wrote in his 31-page order.
He also noted that California residents got the best deal, with benefits on a per-licence basis exceeding that of other states by as much as five or six times the average. Vouchers ranging in amount from US$5 to US$29 will be issued to claimants.
Now that the settlement is final, buyers of Microsoft operating systems and certain Microsoft applications -- whether pre-installed on a computer or bought separately -- who purchased them between 18 February 1995 and 15 December 2001, can apply for vouchers.
As with other settlements, California's specifies that a portion of the unclaimed amount will go to the state's schools, which will receive vouchers to purchase hardware or software, or which can spend them on training or wiring classrooms.
Microsoft has been on a legal roll of late, settling with two other states -- Vermont and Minnesota -- just last week.
Residents of those states, and others which have come to agreements with Microsoft, must wait, however, for final approval, just as Californians have done.
When Microsoft originally announced the settlement in January 2003, for instance, it anticipated that final approval would come later in the year.
The delay was due to the large number of claims received, and an ensuing extension for submitting claims. Up to this point, approximately 600,000 have filed for vouchers.
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