Quote:Microsoft fined record £681m for defying EU
By Emma Henry and agencies
Last Updated: 1:28pm GMT 27/02/2008
The Commission said it was the first company to ignore sanctions in 50 years of EU competition policy.
It fined Microsoft what was than a record €497m (£330m) in 2004 after it found the software giant guilty of using its near monopoly to stifle its rivals.
The company was also ordered to separate its Windows operating system from its Media Player and provide rivals with vital data enabling them to produce computer servers which can work alongside Windows software.
The ruling, which was appealed, was later upheld by an EU court. Microsoft provided information but imposed high royalties on the grounds of innovation.
The Commission found that the information lacked much innovation and was more like a lock to which Microsoft was withholding the combination. It decided the royalties were unreasonable.
Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said: "I hope that today's decision closes a dark chapter in Microsoft's record of non-compliance with the Commission's March 2004 decision."
Microsoft said in a statement that the fines concerned "past issues" and it was now looking to the future.
After fining Microsoft in 2004, the Commission fined it another €280.5 million in July 2006 for failing to comply with the sanctions.
The latest decision picks up from where that fine left off, for the period from June 21, 2006 until Oct. 21, 2007. After that, Microsoft agreed to reduced royalties and to provide the requested information.
The Microsoft statement said: "As we demonstrated last week with our new interoperability principles and specific actions to increase the openness of our products, we are focusing on steps that will improve things for the future."
Last week, knowing a large fine was imminent, the company publicly promised to publish critical information so rival programmes worked better with Windows.
Microsoft still faces other potential action by the Commission.
In January, the EU executive started two new formal antitrust investigations against Microsoft - one relating to interoperability, and one relating to the tying of separate software products.
$1.4 billion?! Holy crap, that's a nice piece of change even for Microsoft!
I can't believe Microsoft is still getting nailed for this crap. I can install virtually any browser, media player, or office productivity suite I want on Windows. How does this constitute a monopoly?
Apple ships a media player with their OS. Sun ships a media player with their OS. Virtually every Linux distribution ships with a media player. Yet, when Microsoft does it, they're a monopoly? WTF?
I think Microsoft should give the EU the finger an refuse to sell any software or provide updates or support to EU countries. That fine would disappear damn near overnight.
This isn't punishment for Microsoft's supposed "crime" or reimbursement for what it has cost others, it's
graft, pure and simple.
-b0b
(...regulatory extortion, nothing more.)
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