Gates testifies in $1B lawsuit against Microsoft

Gates testifies in $1B lawsuit against Microsoft

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates is testifying in a $1 billion antitrust lawsuit accusing the software maker of duping a competitor prior to its rollout of Windows 95.

Gates began his testimony with a history of Microsoft and was expected to remain on the stand throughout the day.

Novell Inc. says Microsoft tricked them into thinking its WordPerfect writing application would be included in the Windows 95 rollout. Novell says it was later forced to sell WordPerfect for a $1.2 billion loss.

Gates is Microsoft’s first witness in the federal case in Salt Lake City.

Microsoft lawyers say Gates dumped WordPerfect because it threatened to crash Windows ’95.

Novell claims it was tricked, but Microsoft lawyers say the claims are groundless. They have sought a dismissal.