Microsoft Gets Stay On Adding Java To WindowsMicrosoft Gets Stay On Adding Java To Windows

SEATTLE (AP) _ Microsoft Corp. has found legal breathing room from a judge's order to add Sun Microsystem's' Java programming technology into the Windows operating system by this summer.

The company won a reprieve Monday in its long battle with rival Sun Microsystems when an appeals court stayed an order requiring Microsoft to include Sun's Java technology in its Windows operating systems within 120 days.

The federal court's order was to take effect Tuesday. But the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., issued the stay pending its review of the case.

``We're pleased the Fourth Circuit has stayed the court order,'' said Jim Desler, a Microsoft spokesman. ``We believed all along it was appropriate that this matter be decided by the circuit court before we move forward with implementing the injunction.''

No date has been set for the appeals court to consider the issue, but Microsoft and Sun will submit their arguments in February and March, Desler said.

The decision comes as Santa Clara, Calif.-based Sun Microsystems presses a $1 billion antitrust lawsuit alleging that Microsoft used its monopoly in desktop computer software to hurt Java, which is designed to let programmers write software to run on all types of computers regardless of operating system.

Sun scored an early victory Jan. 21 when U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz in Baltimore ordered Microsoft to include Java technology in Windows XP. Motz granted a two-week delay before the order would go in effect to give Microsoft time to file its appeal.

In a statement, Sun Microsystems said it regretted the appeals court's decision. The requirement to include Java would ``benefit consumers and ... the Java community's developers, enterprises and system vendors,'' Sun said.

``We will work actively to ensure that the earliest possible date is set for the appellate hearing,'' said Lee Patch, Sun's vice president of legal affairs. ``We look forward to demonstrating the merits of the district court's decision when the appeal is heard.''

Earlier Monday, Microsoft issued an update for Windows XP that stripped out its own version of Java technology. Sun complained that the version of Java that Microsoft had been using was outdated and the differing versions made it difficult for programmers to rely on it.

Microsoft had laid out plans to make Sun's technology available through downloads, CDs and later updates in time to meet the deadline Motz set.

The stay puts those efforts on hold, Windows XP lead product manager Jim Cullinan said.

Cullinan said the company will evaluate whether it still needs to devote developers to incorporating Java in Windows or if they can go back to other projects, such as work on the next version of Windows, codenamed Longhorn.

The stay does not mean an automatic win for Microsoft, but ``frankly, Microsoft's overall track record has been better on appeal,'' said Michael Gartenberg, research director for Jupiter Research. ``It certainly is indicative of the fact that the appeals court felt that Sun didn't have a slam dunk case.''