Microsoft Corp. will not have to include Sun Microsystems Inc.'s latest Java Runtime Environment (JRE) in Windows and Internet Explorer until the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has reviewed the case.

The U.S. Appeals Court on Monday granted Microsoft a stay of the Jan. 21preliminary injunction by Judge J. Frederick Motz of the U.S. District Court in Baltimore, which ordered Microsoft to include Sun's JRE with Windows and Internet Explorer going forward, and enjoined Microsoft from certain separate or stand-alone distributions of its own Java virtual machine (JVM).

The appeals court on Monday also agreed to hear Microsoft's appeal on an expedited basis. That decision now suspends Motz's injunction until the appeals court decides whether or not to uphold his order. A hearing has not been scheduled as yet.

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