| Schlappe für Sony |  |
[http://www.fosspatents.com/2023/03/defeat-for-sony-as-ftc-judge-largely.html?m=1]
tl;dr:
Microsoft filed a motion to gain access to internal Sony documents, including their communications with regulators, exclusivity deals with 3rd parties, and employee performance reviews.
Sony filed a motion looking to stop or limit as much of this as they could, and refused to provide the documents.
Today the FTC judge ordered most of Microsoft's requests for documents to be granted - but limited to 2019-present, and excluding performance reviews of leadership and the CEO.
This means Microsoft will have firsthand knowledge of all Sony's recent exclusivity deals, how they've tried to influence regulators, and even how Sony's in-house anti-trust lawyer's strategies with external parties.
Whether or not the deal goes through, this is a treasure trove of valuable information Sony now has to provide to Microsoft.
Ziemliches Eigentor für Sony
Judge Chappell mentions that according to Sony, Microsoft would have been willing to drop one of those custodians from the list if the two parties had reached an agreement on the scope of discovery through negotiations. But in the absence of such an agreement, Judge Chappell decided that part against Sony. It's possible that not only in that respect but also in others, Sony could have obtained a better result through an agreement with Microsoft.