Appeals Court OKs Microsoft Settlement

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WASHINGTON _ Microsoft Corp., beset by battles with government regulators, won a legal victory Friday when a federal appeals court approved a settlement over anticompetitive marketing practices _ and rebuked a federal judge who emerged as a powerful critic of the computer software maker.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said a lower court judge should not have rejected an antitrust settlement between the Justice Department and Microsoft, the largest personal computer software company.

The pact required Microsoft to alter contracts with personal computer manufacturers that allegedly shut out competing operating system …