Microsoft Will Comply with California Court’s Order in Blue Mountain Case

Redmond, WA, Monday, December 21, 1998 — Microsoft today said it will comply with a temporary restraining order issued by a California Superior Court in relation to the Blue Mountain Arts’ lawsuit filed in early December. The Order, which was entered today, does not grant the onerous relief Blue Mountain had originally requested.

The Order, however, does require what Microsoft has sought since prior to the filing of the lawsuit by Blue Mountain – that Microsoft provide Blue Mountain with the necessary information to make the minimal changes required to ensure their email notifications pass through Microsoft’s popular anti-Spam filtering tool contained in the current beta version of Internet Explorer 5.0.

“While we continue to believe that Blue Mountain’s claims are groundless, we will comply with the court’s ruling,”
said Linda Norman, senior corporate attorney, Microsoft.
“We are pleased that the court’s Order requires Blue Mountain to accept our previously unsuccessful attempts to supply them with the necessary information to resolve this issue quickly in the interest of consumers.”

Additionally, the Order requires Microsoft to post a one-sentence message to users at the site of the download of Internet Explorer 5.0 beta alerting users that if they elect the option of turning on the filter that some messages will be rerouted to another inbox for viewing later. The order also requires Microsoft to notify Blue Mountain, in advance, of any changes to the filter that might affect their email notifications.

Microsoft will comply immediately and looks forward to presenting the facts of the case, which based on documents filed with the court, include:

  • Mindcraft Inc., an independent testing lab, has verified that despite Blue Mountain’s claims, even MSN.com’s own greeting card notifications are subjected to the same treatment as Blue Mountain’s email notifications (i.e., being rerouted to the
    “junk mail”
    folder for later viewing by the user);

  • Microsoft went out of its way to attempt to assist Blue Mountain shortly after being notified about the effect of the beta filtering technology on their email notifications; unfortunately, Blue Mountain ignored repeated offers of assistance and filed this lawsuit instead;

  • Despite Blue Mountain’s claims, their email notifications are not trashed, deleted or blocked. They are – along with MSN.com’s own greeting card notifications – simply re-routed to a separate
    “junk mail folder,”
    on the same level as the user’s normal inbox where they can be easily viewed by the user;

  • It’s important to note that the anti-spam filtering feature is shipped in the
    “off”
    position and will work only if it is deliberately activated by the user. Once activated, users can employ a useful “volume control” that allows them to change the settings to suit their preferences (i.e., the user can decide if it wants to
    “catch more”
    or
    “catch less”
    spam.)

Overall, Microsoft believes it is unfortunate that Blue Mountain has chosen to use the court system to resolve a matter that can easily be addressed through direct communication, which as we’ve seen from the declarations filed this week, is exactly what Microsoft attempted to do once it was notified about the issue in our beta software.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.

Press Contact:

Tom Pilla, Corporate Public Relations, Microsoft

(425) 936-0756

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