I think Microsoft will win on the tying issue at the appeals court level, but whether they will win that point at the Supreme Court is another question.

This law has only been used two times - both times in the AT&T antitrust case - so it's rarely, rarely used. The longer it sits at the Court of Appeals, the less likely the Supreme Court is to take it on an expedited basis. To the extent that the Court of Appeals really starts to get their teeth into this, they could jump on this right away.

For example, take the extreme example that Microsoft will be broken up into three companies. That won't happen until the appeals are exhausted. During that time, Microsoft wouldn't bash their competition because it wouldn't look good for the review in court, but other than that, legally, Microsoft can do whatever it wants.

The longer it sits at the Court of Appeals, the less likely the Supreme Court is to take it on an expedited basis. To the extent that the Court of Appeals really starts to get their teeth into this, they could jump on this right away.