The US judge hearing an antitrust lawsuit brought against seven Silicon Valley companies for their “non-poaching” agreements has said she will allow the case to go forward, but might break it into separate suits.

Plaintiffs have presented new evidence of “non-poaching” agreements between Apple and other high-tech Silicon Valley companies, in a US antitrust class action in California, including emails in which Palm’s chief-executive told Apple’s Steve Jobs that the practice was “likely illegal”.

Producers of the Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark have filed an antitrust lawsuit against the show’s former director Julie Taymor and her union, accusing them of fixing the price of her royalties.

Credit card companies and 13 major banks cited in a class action by millions of retailers alleging antitrust violations on credit card interchange fees may feel under pressure to settle the case, according to one antitrust expert.

Retailer Babies “R” Us and several manufacturers have settled an antitrust class action in which they were accused of price fixing for US$35 million.

Microsoft and Datel have settled two US lawsuits in which they accused each other of antitrust violations and patent infringements.

Israeli airline El Al has reached a US$15.8 million settlement with plaintiffs in private litigation linked to its role in the US Department of Justice’s air cargo cartel investigation.

Private antitrust claims continue to stack up against multiple auto parts manufacturers, sparking from a US industry probe thought to be the largest antitrust investigation in history.

Novell’s US$1.3 billion antitrust lawsuit brought against Microsoft has ended, as the jury failed to reach a unanimous decision.

Germany’s Supreme Court has published the full text of its decision in a follow-on action, which shows that although the court accepts the possibility of a passing-on defence, it has created a significant burden of proof for companies that wish to use the argument.

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates testified yesterday in a US$1 billion abuse of dominance case brought by rival software manufacturer Novell against his company.

Israeli technology company MiniFrame has alleged in a new lawsuit that Microsoft abused its dominant position in the computer operating systems market to block companies from buying its PC-sharing products.

Judges will play an increasingly important role in European competition follow-on damages actions, delegates heard yesterday. Faaez Samadi in London