Posted on 28-1-2004
'Negative
decision' against Microsoft in antitrust case
Microsoft today restated its commitment to reaching an amicable
resolution in a long-running antitrust dispute after the European
commission reportedly
reached a negative preliminary decision against the software
giant.
The company, which is feeling the heat as the five-year case
moves towards a climax over the next few months, has played
down the commission's reported ruling.
Press reports indicated that European antitrust regulators
were moving ahead with plans to require Microsoft to separate
its digital media-playing software from its ubiquitous Windows
operating system.
Forcing Microsoft to "unbundle" its Windows Media
Player software would be the toughest sanction against the company
in its antitrust disputes in the US and in the EU. It would
create a major headache for Microsoft, meaning that it would
have to release different versions of Windows in the US and
Europe.
However, Microsoft officials in Brussels insisted that the
preliminary decision was always going to be negative.
"It did not come as too much of a shock," said a
Microsoft official. "We fully expected the initial decision
to be negative, but there is still a lot to play for - there
are discussions going on all the time."
European authorities have taken a tougher line than their counterparts
in the US, accusing Microsoft of using its quasi-monopoly in
operating systems to ride roughshod over competitors providing
alternatives for several applications, including media playing
and server software which powers networks of computers.
By including the Windows Media Player with the operating system,
which is carried by 95% of the world's personal computers, Microsoft
enjoys a huge advantage over its rivals.
Competitors such as RealNetworks must rely on users downloading
its software separately, or on manufacturers incorporating the
software in new computers.
RealNetworks, which has testified in Microsoft's European hearings,
recently sued the company for civil antitrust violations.
The EU case is heading towards a conclusion, and the commission
has said that it hopes to wrap up the case before this summer,
before a new commission president is named in June. Microsoft
and commission officials have been holding settlement talks
since November after a three-day hearing on the case.
If the commission judges Microsoft to be in violation of antitrust
laws, the software company could be subject to fines, as well
as being forced to remove software used to play back music and
video from Windows.
Microsoft insists that the media-player software is an essential
piece of Windows. It has said that it would challenge any decision
that impinged upon its ability to add new features to Windows,
including the media-player software.
The software giant is likely to challenge any negative ruling
from the commission at the EU's court of first instance in Luxembourg.
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