The trial of the United States vs. Microsoft Corporation opened in October of 1998 and on April 3, 2000, Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson of United States District Court ruled in favor of the United States government against Microsoft Corporation who was charged with antitrust and anti-competitive actions that were in violation of the Sherman Act. The lawsuit was centered on the allegations that Microsoft stifled consumers and were creating a monopoly by refusing to bundle other software, over software developed for their platform, with their operating systems. Specifically, they were bundling their own in house developed web browser (Internet explorer) and would not bundle another web browser (such as Netscape) with their Windows operating system.