Microsoft starts appeals process

Fighting talk: Bill Gates reacts to the verdict

Microsoft has filed an appeal against last week's court ruling that it should be broken up for violating US anti-trust laws.

The move had been widely expected and follows earlier pressure from US District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson for Microsoft to file an appeal as soon as possible.

Microsoft has asked the US Court of Appeals in Washington to review the case in what is seen as an effort to confound attempts by the Justice Department to send the matter directly to the US Supreme Court.

The Justice Department immediately asked the Supreme Court to review the case, bypassing the Court of Appeals.

"Immediate Supreme Court review of this case is in the public interest because of its importance to the American economy," the Justice Department said.

The government described Microsoft's appeal as "ill-conceived".

Last week, the judge ruled that Microsoft had violated its dominant market position and must be broken up to prevent it acting as a monopoly

In its filing, Microsoft asks the court to stay or postpone the enforcement of the ruling.

Pressure to appeal

The company does not have to break up immediately but it does have to change some of its business practices straight away.

Microsoft had requested more time to do this. But in an order filed on Tuesday, the judge wrote: "Consideration of a stay pending appeal is premature in that no notice of appeal has yet been filed."

This put pressure on Microsoft to file an appeal as soon as possible.

Bill Gates, founder and chairman of the software giant, said the firm had a strong case.

Even if the case moves through the appeals process at lightning speed, the two sides are likely still to be fighting in court for the next year and a half.