The real nature of the relationship has been debated, with no specific conclusions of fact available.

According to the conclusion of fact, it could be concluded that Samak was an employee to the said Company.

Judge Jackson has acknowledged that he wrote his conclusions of fact broadly because there is a tougher standard to reverse such conclusions than legal conclusions.

One common definition is "in a trial, a conclusion of fact which is logically deduced from evidence...." It is "the conclusion arrived during a trial based on the evidentiary facts."

"Conclusory" ("expressing a mere conclusion of fact without stating the specific facts upon which the conclusion is based"), which some lawyer purists and nearly all dictionaries resist, is deemed all right, even useful.

Thus a central issue in the arguments will almost certainly be whether many conclusions by Judge Jackson - like one that Microsoft is a monopolist that improperly exercised its market power - are conclusions of law that can be easily reversed, or conclusions of fact that must be accorded deference.