May 9th, 2008
Microsoft appeals $1.4 billion EU fine
On May 9, Microsoft asked a European court to overturn a $1.4 billion fine imposed by the European Commission for Microsoft’s alleged failure to comply with an antitrust ruling against the company.
The fine (originally tallied at about $1.3 billion) — on top of the $1.2 billion the Commission had already charged Microsoft — was for failing to provide competitors access to its protocols at a reasonable price, enabling them to build compatible solutions.
Microsoft tried, to no avail, to head off the newest fine by announcing a set of Interoperability Principles a few days before the court announced its decision to slap Microsoft with an additional fine.
Since the late February announcement of the new fine, Microsoft has been publishing to the Web the full Windows Server protocol and communication protocol interoperability documentation that the EC had requested in 2004.
I’d argue that without the EC’s continual prodding, Microsoft still would not have published all of the documentation required for its competitors and partners to develop products that can plug into Windows. It’s unfortunate it took yet another $1.4 billion to get Microsoft to comply.
Do you think Microsoft will win its appeal? Why/why not?
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