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| UPDATED: 2006-07-05 |
 Microsoft Battered By Legal Decisions 
By: David Utter 2006-07-05 In Europe and South Korea, legal powers have pushed back at the world's biggest technology company, with decisions that challenge the way it does business.  Microsoft (MSFT) has been operating under the watchful eye of a US court for several years, as a result of antitrust rulings over its business methods. Europe and South Korea have heard similar complaints about the company's operations, and have ruled against Microsoft over issues like interoperability and bundling.
The interoperability issue stems from a European Union committee's finding that Microsoft needed to make detailed instructions available to third-party application developers so their products could work with Windows Server. That committee also required Microsoft to unbundle its Windows Media Player from Windows products aimed for the PC market in the EU. To date, Microsoft now sells a version of Windows in the EU minus its media player. But the interoperability question has been a sticking point. The committee overseeing the case against Microsoft has complained repeatedly that Microsoft's efforts, including the release of source code for Windows Server, has been insufficient. That could mean threatened fines against Microsoft may be charged soon. A Forbes report noted the $2.56 million per day fine would be backdated to December 15, 2005, and amount to nearly a half-billion dollars just for starters. South Korea's Fair Trade Commission received a court's backing in its complaints against Microsoft. The article noted how Microsoft will have to offer a version of Windows without the media player or the MSN Messenger IM client for sale in South Korea, as they now do in Europe. Although South Korea has expressed its concerns over Microsoft's competitive practices, its punishment has been less severe than Europe's. Microsoft paid $34 million as a penalty in South Korea, a far cry from the hundreds of millions levied against it in Europe. Microsoft has been seeking closure to the various lawsuits, and that closure seems closer in South Korea than in Europe. The company shares some blame over the length of time the EU case has dragged on against it. It always seemed unlikely Microsoft would willingly open its source code to third parties. Their decision to do so in late 2005, a decision that has been criticized itself for being heavy on code and light on useful documentation, came after years of dragging out the case with appeals. Microsoft has been holding out until it could have its appeal reviewed by the European Court of First Instance, where they believe they have a better chance of mitigating the charges against it. That decision won't arrive until 2007, while Microsoft has a week before the EU committee announces just how much of a fine it will hit the company with over its past failures to comply with regulatory antitrust rulings in 2004. --- Tag: Microsoft Add to  Del.icio.us |  Digg |  Yahoo! My Web |  Furl
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View All Articles by David Utter About the Author: David Utter is a staff writer for InternetFinancialNews and WebProNews covering technology and business. |
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