The European Commission has launched a new case against Microsoft over claims that it is using its market dominance to stifle competition. The Commission is basing its arguments on a crucial court victory over Microsoft last year.
The case will investigate two claims: that Microsoft has refused to disclose information about its software's interoperability with other software and whether the inclusion of the Internet Explorer browser with its Windows operating system is illegal.
The Commission fined Microsoft in 2004 for similar offences, the failure to provide interoperability information and the bundling of a media player with Windows. That case took years to resolve, but a Court of First Instance judgment in September of last year backed the Commission in a decision that Microsoft did not appeal.
That court ruling has given the Commission the backing it needs for the new action. "In its Microsoft judgment of 17 September 2007, the Court of First Instance confirmed the principles that must be respected by dominant companies as regards interoperability disclosures," said a Microsoft statement. "As for the tying of separate software products, in its Microsoft judgment of 17 September 2007, the Court of First Instance confirmed the principles that must be respected by dominant companies."
Competition law expert Giles Warrington of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind OUT-LAW.COM, said that the previous successful case against Microsoft is a crucial factor in the Commission's decision to take a new one.
"The allegations made in this case raise similar issues to those raised previously, supply of interoperability information and tying software to the Windows operating system," he said. "In addition, the Court judgment, and Microsoft's acceptance of it, is likely to embolden the Commission in investigating alleged abuses of dominance in the technology and technology-related fields."
Have you read these related articles?
Newsletter:
