Date set for Microsoft's Java appeal

A federal court has set a date of April 3 to hear Microsoft's appeal of a preliminary injunction requiring it to distribute Java software made by rival Sun Microsystems. Each side will have 20 minutes to present its case.

The hearing will take place in Richmond, Va. before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has placed the injunction on hold while the appeal is under way. On Jan. 21, U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz ordered Microsoft to stop distributing incompatible versions of Sun's Java interpreter and to begin shipping Sun's versions with its Windows operating system and Internet Explorer browser software.