A decision on the export licenses is expected within weeks, and officials said it would set a significant precedent for future supercomputer exports.

The case could set significant precedents on how a website's "terms of service" are applied to criminal cases.

Indeed, the breakup of Sudan, which is by no means assured, would set a significant precedent.

Colonel Davis said that was a significant precedent.

The measure, signed in August 1996, set a significant precedent for Federal regulation of health insurance, an industry long regulated by the states.

Legal experts said the order, if upheld on appeal, was a significant precedent.

Legal experts called the ruling a significant precedent in takeover case law.

"If we have a Federal judge telling a town where it has to pick up garbage, that sets a significant precedent."

Meanwhile, legal experts said the Delaware court's order was a significant precedent.

All three cases set significant precedents for this case, Mr. Graham said.