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Massachusetts' and West Virginia's rejection of a court-approved settlement in the Microsoft antitrust case is drawing praise from one IT trade organization and puzzlement from another.

The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), a Washington, D.C.-based group representing more than 800 software and digital content companies, applauds the move.

"By appealing the decision, the states provide consumers and competitors with hope that an effective solution can yet be found," SIIA president Ken Wasch said. "We support that effort and look forward to a higher court re- examining these very important issues."

Wasch went on to commend the states for their "willingness to stand up for competition and fair play."

Speaking at a Boston trade show yesterday, Red Hat CEO Matthew Szulik hailed Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas Reilly. Szulik's Linux software firm is a Microsoft rival, though he said the issue has broader implications.

But Lars Liebeler, antitrust counsel at the trade association CompTIA, was surprised any of the states suing Microsoft sought to prolong the court battle.

Other holdouts -- California, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota and Utah, plus the District of Columbia -- accepted the deal. The consensus among these plaintiffs is that the settlement, though imperfect, will brake anti-competitive practices by the Redmond, Wash., software giant.

"In light of what the standard of review is to be, it's a very difficult appeal," Liebeler told internetnews.com.

In Liebeler's opinion, U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly did a good job of analyzing the case law and operated within the parameters of an earlier appellate court ruling.

In addition to fighting deep-pocketed Microsoft in an appeal that could take a year or longer, Massachusetts and West Virginia will also be butting heads with the U.S. Department of Justice, which brokered the deal.

CompTIA counts Microsoft, as well as many of its competitors, among its 10,500 members. Earlier this year, the organization endorsed the draft agreement, noting the stipulation that Microsoft release key code that will allow rivals to develop software compatible with Microsoft's Windows operating system.