Sony accuses Microsoft of ‘obvious harassment’ in latest FTC court filing
You know, I’m not sure the console dads will ever share a stage again (opens in new tab). Just days after Bobby Kotick, in the pages of the Financial Times, accused Sony of “sabotaging” Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Sony has come out and accused Microsoft of “blatant harassment” (via Axios (opens in new tab)) in a recent filing with the US Federal Trade Commission (opens in new tab) (FTC).
It’s not quite harassment, as you or I would understand it: Microsoft didn’t spam Sony with offensive texts. But as part of the lengthy and ongoing legal battle between the two companies over the Activision acquisition, the Xbox maker has requested access to all sorts of normally private internal Sony documents in order to make its case. In its filing with the FTC, Sony alleged that one particular request — a “request for performance reviews for the conduct of SIE” — was so far out of contention that it amounted to “blatant harassment” of Sony by Microsoft. Won’t that make someone think of the Sony executives?
Sony pointed out that “even in employment cases, courts require specific proof of relevancy before requiring the production of personnel files,” which it says Microsoft has not done. It added that the Activision litigation isn’t even an employment case anyway, so how does Microsoft get off subpoenaing documents it “speculates.” […] may ‘openly’ discuss SIE’s gaming business performance”?
The idea of one megacorporation “harassing” another – as if we’re talking about people with fears and feelings rather than titanic, globe-spanning empires – sounds slightly absurd to me, but Sony’s argument won the judge over. Chief Administrative Justice Judge D. Michael Chappell said Sony had “proven good cause for the relief sought” and issued a proposed order overturning Document Motion 13, which relates to executive performance reviews.
In the same section, Chappell also ordered that Microsoft confine itself to requesting documents between January 1, 2019 and January 17, 2023, and specifically that its subpoena be limited to documents from a few executives, including high-profile names like Jim Ryan and Herman Hulst. To avoid having to write down the names of all seven leaders every time, the document refers to them as the “Seven Wardens,” making them sound like something you’re up against in a Destiny heist.
It feels like the companies involved are almost as sick of this process as the general public is at this point. If it’s not Sony talking about “harassment,” it’s Bobby Kotick predicting economic doom (opens in new tab) for Britain or Microsoft lawyers accusing venerable government institutions of violating the US Constitution (opens in new tab). We should probably pack this thing before there’s a fight in a supermarket parking lot.