Washington: Lawyers for the states still pursuing the Microsoft antitrust case pleaded in court on June 19 for strict sanctions on the company for its monopoly abuse as the case neared a likely conclusion.

"I suggest to you that Microsoft still doesn't get it. You're the only one left to tell them what it's about," states lawyer Brendan Sullivan said in closing arguments before US District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.

Sullivan added, "All that's gone before us is for naught unless this remedy is equitable and fair."

The states want Kollar-Kotelly to reject a settlement reached between the company and the Justice Department late last year and impose stricter sanctions on the firm.

States' attorney Steven Kuney said his team's top priority would be to ensure that Microsoft is required to fully disclose information about software code to its business partners during the development process.

Throughout the hearing, Microsoft has argued that the states' proposal is too Draconian and would result in a 10-year hiatus of new software innovation from Microsoft.

Sullivan argued that Microsoft attorneys are engaging in hyperbole to avoid stricter sanctions and "that the company would not rename its Redmond, Washington campus Sleepy Hollow and hibernate like Rip Van Winkle."

"You know, your honour, somehow I don't think that's going to happen," Sullivan said, adding, "They can adapt. They can live with reasonable language in a strong, equitable decree which is required here."

Microsoft attorney John Warden defended the company's actions.

"We are not claiming to be immune from the law," Warden said in closing arguments.

But he said the states proposal, which would force Microsoft to offer a stripped- down version of its flagship Windows operating system, are too stringent.

Late last year, Microsoft and the Justice Department agreed to settle their four year-old antitrust disputes, which found the software company illegally maintained its operating system monopoly.

Only half of the 18 states that were suing the company alongside the federal government signed that deal, which cannot be enforced until Kollar-Kotelly signs it.

Just ahead of closing arguments, Kollar-Kotelly issued an order calling on both sides to "prioritise" their proposals and suggest alternatives to their proposed orders to conclude the case.

The judge is considering the states' proposal for tough sanctions against Microsoft for its monopoly abuse; at the same time, she is weighing approval of a deal negotiated last year with the US Justice Department to end federal involvement in the case.

States that rejected the government's settlement with Microsoft and have continued to pursue the antitrust case are California, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Utah and West Virginia, along with the District of Columbia.