Microsoft Statement on Court Decision To Not Grant Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement

REDMOND, Wash., Jan. 11, 2002 — Microsoft Corp. issued a statement today in response to the decision by a U.S. District Court in Maryland not to approve a nationwide settlement of more than 100 class action lawsuits against Microsoft. The suits, which allege that Microsoft® products were overpriced, will now return to litigation.

Under the proposed settlement, Microsoft had agreed to provide more than $1 billion in cash, training, support and software to help make computer technology more accessible to public schools serving nearly 7 million of America’s most economically disadvantaged children.

“While we are confident that Microsoft ultimately will prevail in these lawsuits, we are disappointed that we have missed this opportunity to improve education for disadvantaged children while resolving litigation,”
said Tom Burt, deputy general counsel for Microsoft.

“Microsoft went the extra mile to make this settlement work. We sought input from educators to fully address issues regarding the independence of the education foundation that was a key part of the proposed settlement. We also made modifications to the original agreement to ensure that schools would have the option to use the software and platform of their choice. Microsoft is always open to looking for reasonable ways to resolve litigation. We will review the courts opinion and at the same time move forward with the next steps in the litigation,”
Burt said.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.

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