In this Nov. 21, 2011 photo, Bill Gates arrives to testify at the Frank E. Moss federal courthouse in Salt Lake City. Closing arguments are set Tuesday Dec. 13,2011 in a $1 billion federal antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft Corp. Novell Inc. claims the software giant duped it into working on a new version of the WordPerfect writing program only to withdraw support months before Microsoft's Windows 95 was released. Novell claims it was later forced to sell WordPerfect for a $1 billion loss. (AP Photo/Jim Urquhart,File)
(AP) -- Jurors continue deliberations in a Utah company's $1 billion federal antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft Corp.
The panel previously indicated it was near a verdict, but as Friday dragged on, an outcome became less clear.
Court officials say jurors are divided. The judge has denied a request from one juror to be removed from the case, and ordered all 12 to continue deliberating.
Novell Inc. sued in 2004, claiming Microsoft duped it into developing a WordPerfect writing program version for Windows 95 only to pull the plug so Microsoft could gain market share with its own Word program. Microsoft says Novell just couldn't deliver a compatible product in time.
The judge says he will ask jurors if they want to deliberate into the weekend. The trial began in Salt Lake City in October.
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