SAN FRANCISCO -- Microsoft on Monday asked the U.S. Court of Appeals to limit the number of "friend of the court" briefs that can be filed in support of the U.S. Department of Justice in the appeal of Microsoft's antitrust case.

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Such filings, also called amicus briefs, allow parties that aren't involved directly in a case to submit arguments on behalf of the defendant or the plaintiff. To qualify, the parties normally should have a particular legal interest in the outcome of the case, or be able to provide some unique information or perspective for the judges, according to a legal precedent cited by Microsoft in its court filing.

Monday was the deadline for both Microsoft and the Department of Justice to submit responses to parties seeking friend-of-the-court status. In their own brief filed Monday, the Department of Justice and 19 states suing Microsoft for antitrust violations said they don't object to any parties filing such briefs if the briefs help guide the appeals court.

America Online (AOL) and three trade associations that have asked to be able to submit briefs backing the Department of Justice should be permitted to do so only if they file a single, joint brief, Microsoft argued. "Any other outcome would be unfair to Microsoft and unduly burdensome to the court," lawyers for the software maker wrote.

The industry groups are the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), the Project to Promote Competition & Innovation in the Digital Age (ProComp), and the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA). Microsoft noted that it believes the CCIA and SIIA are "dominated by Microsoft's competitors, notably Sun and Oracle."

Microsoft asked the court to reject motions to file government-friendly briefs from the Association for Objective Law (TAFOL), the Center for the Moral Defense of Capitalism (CMDC), and from three individuals. Microsoft said those parties haven't shown sufficient interest in the case to warrant participation.

Two other industry groups looking to file a joint amicus brief in support of Microsoft -- the Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) and the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) -- should be allowed to do so, Microsoft urged the court.

In a separate filing, the Department of Justice and 19 U.S. states told the Appeals Court that, "in light of the importance of the case," they don't object to any parties filing amicus briefs that have already asked to do so.

"We support the Court's permitting any amicus filings that it would find helpful," the government said.

The Department of Justice noted that one of the individuals seeking to file an amicus brief, Lee Hollaar, a professor of computing science at the University of Utah, was a paid consultant to the Department of Justice antitrust division in a 1995 action against Microsoft.

Microsoft's brief is available online at www.microsoft.com/presspass/trial/appeals/10-30amicus.asp. The Department of Justice brief is at www.usdoj.gov/atr/cases/f6800/6851.htm