Lawsuits brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, 18 states, and the District of Columbia in two separate actions were resolved through a Consent Decree that took effect in 2001 and a Final Judgment entered in 2002. These proceedings imposed various constraints on our Windows operating system businesses. These constraints include limits on certain contracting practices, mandated disclosure of certain software program interfaces and protocols, and rights for computer manufacturers to limit the visibility of certain Windows features in new PCs. We believe we are in full compliance with these rules. However, if we fail to comply with them, additional restrictions could be imposed on us that would adversely affect our business.
2001年11月2日，联邦司法部与微软就案件达成了一项和解。这一和解方案要求微软与第三方公司共享API，并任命一个三人小组，该小组可以在今后5年的时间里随时对微软的系统、记录和源代码进行不受限制的访问和检查以确保其遵守了相关的协议[5]。不过，联邦司法部并没有要求微软更改已有的任何代码，也没有禁止微软在未来的Windows中捆绑其它软件。但是哥伦比亚特区和加利福尼亚州、康涅狄格州、艾奥瓦州、佛罗里达州、堪萨斯州、明尼苏达州、弗吉尼亚州、马萨诸塞州、犹他州对这样的和解结果很不满意，认为这只不过是“一个巴掌打在手腕上”（英語：a slap on the wrist），而行业权威人士罗伯特·X·克林格利（英语：Robert X. Cringely）则表示：拆分是不可能的了，“现在唯一可以让微软倒台的可能只有自杀”（英語：now the only way Microsoft can die is by suicide）[6]。曾协助杰克逊法官起草事实认定草案的北卡罗莱纳大学教堂山分校反垄断法教授更表示，这一和解协议给予了微软公司的Windows和其它“平台软件”反垄断豁免权，协议中的这些条款将破坏自由竞争，微软现在已经开始享有其通过非法手段获得的浏览器软件市场垄断地位[7][8][9]。
对案件的批评
诺贝尔经济学奖得主米尔顿·弗里德曼认为这一针对微软的反垄断诉讼开创了一个政府干涉自由市场的危险先例，未来的政府监管将给同行业的技术进步受阻埋下伏笔[10]。不过2007年1月《商业与经济研究期刊》（英語：Journal of Business & Economic Research）中的詹金斯（英語：Jenkins）和比恩（英語：Bing）则认为，与米尔顿所担心的恰恰相反，这一和解实际上对微软的影响微乎其微，其中的罚款、限制和监控都还远远不足以“防止它滥用垄断权力主宰操作系统和应用软件业”。他们的结论是，在这一案件得到和解后，微软仍然可以利用其保有的主导或垄断地位扼杀对手的竞争和技术创新[11]。
另一位诺贝尔经济学奖得主保罗·克鲁格曼则在其于2000年4月26日发表在《纽约时报》的文章“MICROSOFT: WHAT NEXT?”中写道：“我们并不是在讨论有罪无罪的问题，而是现实与否的问题：即使你真的相信比尔·盖茨违反了法律，也不能对其强加一个会损害广大民众的惩罚。哪怕是那些强烈批评微软做法的人也不得不担心简单地将其分割所会带来的反效果：原本免费的应用软件可能都会开始收费，而经营操作系统的公司也将放弃原有的价格限制大幅提价。[13][14]”
Kenneth Elzinga, David Evans, and Albert Nichols, United States v. Microsoft: Remedy or Malady? 9 Geo. Mason L. Rev. 633 (2001)
John Lopatka and William Page, Antitrust on Internet Time: Microsoft and the Law and Economics of Exclusion, 7 Supreme Court Economic Review 157–231 (1999)
John Lopatka and William Page, The Dubious Search For Integration in the Microsoft Trial, 31 Conn. L. Rev. 1251 (1999)
John Lopatka and William Page, Who Suffered Antitrust Injury in the Microsoft Case?, 69 George Washington Law Review 829-59 (2001)
Alan Meese, Monopoly Bundling In Cyberspace: How Many Products Does Microsoft Sell ? 44 Antitrust Bulletin 65 (1999)
Alan Meese, Don't Disintegrate Microsoft (Yet), 9 Geo. Mason L. Rev. 761 (2001)
Steven Salop and R. Craig Romaine, Preserving Monopoly: Economic Analysis, Legal Standards, and the Microsoft Case, 7 Geo. Mas. L. Rev. 617 (1999)
Howard A. Shelanski and J. Gregory Sidak, Antitrust Divestiture in Network Industries, 68 University of Chicago Law Review 1 (2001)
Final Judgment in U.S. v. Microsoft（页面存档备份，存于互联网档案馆） (injunction including final settlement terms approved by the court) (note that the copy posted on the district court's web site is actually an earlier version that the court declined to approve).
Kenneth Elzinga, David Evans, and Albert Nichols, United States v. Microsoft: Remedy or Malady? 9 Geo. Mason L. Rev. 633 (2001)
John Lopatka and William Page, Antitrust on Internet Time: Microsoft and the Law and Economics of Exclusion, 7 Supreme Court Economic Review 157–231 (1999)
John Lopatka and William Page, The Dubious Search For Integration in the Microsoft Trial, 31 Conn. L. Rev. 1251 (1999)
John Lopatka and William Page, Who Suffered Antitrust Injury in the Microsoft Case?, 69 George Washington Law Review 829-59 (2001)
Alan Meese, Monopoly Bundling In Cyberspace: How Many Products Does Microsoft Sell ? 44 Antitrust Bulletin 65 (1999)
Alan Meese, Don't Disintegrate Microsoft (Yet), 9 Geo. Mason L. Rev. 761 (2001)
Steven Salop and R. Craig Romaine, Preserving Monopoly: Economic Analysis, Legal Standards, and the Microsoft Case, 7 Geo. Mas. L. Rev. 617 (1999)
Howard A. Shelanski and J. Gregory Sidak, Antitrust Divestiture in Network Industries, 68 University of Chicago Law Review 1 (2001)
Gavil, Andrew I.; First, Harry. The Microsoft Antitrust Cases - Competition Policy for the Twenty-first Century. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA: MIT Press. 2014-12-09. ISBN 978-0-262-02776-2.
