Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp., facing new antitrust investigations in Europe, will remain subject to oversight by a federal judge in the U.S. to ensure it is competing fairly.

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington yesterday extended an antitrust decree governing the conduct of the world's largest software maker until November 2009. The judge agreed with a group of states that said Microsoft withheld important information on communications links from its competitors.

Kollar-Kotelly said in her ruling that she might extend the court supervision beyond 2009 depending on the company's compliance. ``The door remains open for the court to reassess the need for continued oversight,'' she said.

The judge's decision also means that Microsoft may face greater scrutiny after a new president takes office next year, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said in a phone interview.

The Justice Department in a new administration ``will have an opportunity to take ownership of this settlement in a profoundly significant way'' and antitrust enforcement could be ``more aggressive,'' Blumenthal said. Connecticut is one of the states that joined the Democratic Clinton administration's Justice Department in suing Microsoft in 1998.

The Republican Bush administration inherited the case and negotiated a settlement with Microsoft in 2001 after a federal appeals court ruled Microsoft illegally protected its monopoly for Windows operating software. The settlement requires Microsoft to let computer makers promote competing software programs without fear of retaliation.

Enforcing the Settlement

The court decree enforcing the settlement was due to expire last year. In extending it through 2009, Kollar-Kotelly said she based her decision ``upon the extreme and unforeseen delay in the availability of complete, accurate and usable technical documentation'' from Microsoft. The delay ``prevented the final judgments from achieving their principal objectives,'' she said.

The extension was opposed by Microsoft and the Bush administration. In a brief filed in November, the Justice Department said there was ``no basis'' to extend the decree. The states had sought a five-year extension.

The Justice Department ``will continue to work cooperatively with the states and Microsoft'' to enforce the settlement, department spokeswoman Gina Talamona said today.

In Europe, regulators announced Jan. 14 that they would investigate whether Microsoft is using its dominance in word processing and spreadsheets to thwart rivals. The European Union also will review whether Microsoft illegally tied an Internet browser to Windows.

Not a Sanction

``The extension should not be viewed as a sanction against Microsoft,'' Kollar-Kotelly said. She commended Microsoft ``for its willingness to address issues as they arose'' and said, ``In many respects, Microsoft's conduct has been a model for parties engaged in complex and protracted litigation.''

Still, ``the fact remains that more than five years after the final judgments were entered, the technical documentation'' is ``still not available to licensees'' in a usable form, the judge wrote.

Microsoft's general counsel, Brad Smith, said in a statement that the company will comply with the order.

``We are gratified that the court recognized our extensive efforts to work cooperatively with the large number of government agencies involved,'' Smith said. ``We built Windows Vista in compliance with these rules, and we will continue to adhere to the decree's requirements.''

Extension to 2012

Gareth Lacy, a spokesman for California Attorney General Jerry Brown, said the state had asked that the consent decree be extended until 2012. The states will get an opportunity in 2009 to argue for another extension if it's needed, Lacy said.

``We wanted an extension of the judgment. That's what happened and that speaks for itself,'' Lacy said, declining further comment.

Microsoft fell 29 cents to $32.31 as of 10:50 a.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading.

Microsoft previously consented to demands by antitrust enforcers to extend until November 2009 a section of the decree requiring disclosure of communications protocols. Those are the parts of the Windows operating system that let computer programs talk with the software that powers personal computers.

Kollar-Kotelly said yesterday's order, extending the rest of the consent decree until November 2009, should be good for competition.

Technical Data

In her 78-page opinion, the judge agreed with the states' argument that the failure to give companies technical data meant that ``the various provisions'' of the decree ``have not yet been given the opportunity to operate together as a comprehensive remedy.''

``The court cannot know'' what impact the documentation ``will have on the market once it is finally available,'' Kollar- Kotelly wrote.

The judge said the increase from 10 Microsoft employees originally assigned to produce the technical data in 2006 to the 320 engineers and program managers involved last year shows the ``insufficiency of resources'' the company had devoted to the project.

Microsoft said 41 companies have licensed the protocols and 13 of them are selling software products developed with them.

To contact the reporter on this story: James Rowley in Washington at jarowley@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 30, 2008 10:54 EST