Microsoft Faces New EU Competition Probe
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DRM software stops digital files from being copied and has already seen heavy investment from Time Warner, Microsoft and Sony. Before the buy-out in April, the majority owner of ContentGuard
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The European Commission warned  Microsoft on Thursday it faced further fines in its antitrust  case for seeking unreasonable prices from software makers for  interoperability information.
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MicrosoftÂ has filed an appeal against the latest antitrust fine imposed on it by the European Commission, a Microsoft spokesman said on Tuesday.
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(InfoWorld) - Any attempt to incorporate its own security software in Windows Vista, Microsoft Corp.'s next generation operating system, could spark a new antitrust spat with Europe's top regulator, the European Commission, spokesman Jonathan Todd warned Tuesday.Todd told Microsoft not to shut out security software rivals. Diversity and innovation could be at risk if Microsoft bundles its own security software with its dominant OS, he said. Microsoft warned last week that Vista, due to launch early next year, may be delayed in Europe because of the regulator's concerns. Earlier Tuesday the company said it hoped the Commission would not demand the removal of important security features from Windows Vista in Europe. "One of our principal concerns is that European consumers have access to the same new security features in Windows Vista as everyone else," said Erich Andersen, vice president and associate general counsel for Europe. "We want to launch Windows Vista in a fully lawful manner and we want to avoid regulatory decisions that could increase security risks for European consumers."The spat over Vista's security features is similar to the disagreement over bundling Media Player, Microsoft's audio and video playing software, into Windows XP. Two and a half years ago the Commission found Microsoft guilty of foreclosing the market for audio and video players by attaching Media Player to its operating system. It ordered the company to offer a second version of Windows with Media Player stripped out and fined Microsoft â¬497 million (US$610 million at the time) for abusing its dominant position in the market. The remedy Microsoft proposed is widely seen as a failure. Sales of the unbundled version of Windows, dubbed Edition N, are almost nonexistent. Nevertheless, Todd said last week that the remedy's true value is as a precedent for future bundling issues that could arise from the launch of future versions of Windows, including Vista. Microsoft was misleading people by implying that a possible delay to Vista's launch in Europe would be due to the regulator, he said "It is not up to us to tell Microsoft what it has to do to Vista. The onus is on Microsoft to design its product in conformity with European competition laws which it is well aware of," he said.
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European Union regulators said Monday they were investigating software giant Microsoft Inc. for abusing its monopoly by squeezing out office software and Internet browser rivals.
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The European Commission warns that Microsoft could face further fines for failing to comply with anti-trust rulings.
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Microsoft's  compliance with a  landmark European Union antitrust decision has opened  competition for servers, where one rival says it now has a  fighting chance to take on the software giant's dominance.
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The European Commission turned up the  pressure on Microsoft  on Thursday, warning the U.S.  software giant of new fines and accusing it of serial defiance  of an antitrust ruling made nearly three years ago.
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Two U.S. software firms are asking the   European Commission to take action against Microsoft's MSFT.O   new Vista operating system, the Wall Street Journal reported on   Thursday.
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The European Union's top competition   regulator clashed with Microsoft on Tuesday over security   upgrades in the U.S. software giant's new Windows Vista   operating system in a re-run of past antitrust battles.
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The European Commission is likely to launch a competition probe this week into the hostile takeover bid of part-privatised Irish airline Aer Lingus by its low-cost compatriot Ryanair, sources close to the matter said.
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Just when Microsoft thought it was safe to do business in the European Union, the government has opened a second complaint against the software giant.
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(InfoWorld) - European Commissioner for competition Neelie Kroes Tuesday denied she is conducting a personal vendetta against Microsoft. Her comments came in response to what she called âa coordinated campaignâ by Microsoft against Europeâs top antitrust regulator. âFar from pursuing a vendetta against Microsoft, the Commissionâs actions are guided by the desire to create the most innovation-friendly business climate in Europe to the ultimate benefit of European consumers,â Kroes wrote in a letter in Tuesdayâs Financial Times. Earlier this month Microsoft warned that ongoing antitrust problems in Europe mayÂ delay the European launch of Windows Vista, the new version of the companyâs flagship operating system. It accused the Commission of not giving it sufficiently clear guidance on whether Vista would pass muster under European antitrust law. It also presented research it had commissioned that showed that hundreds of thousands ofÂ jobs in the European IT industry were at stakeÂ if Vistaâs launch in the region was delayed. âThere appears to be a co-ordinated campaign to portray the Commission in a negative light,â Kroes wrote. âFor example, I have seen it suggested that the Commission may seek toÂ prevent Microsoft from improving the securityÂ of its operating system. This is categorically not the case,â she wrote. The Commission has been giving feedback to Microsoft since the spring about how to avoid similar antitrust problems with Vista that it experienced with its predecessor, Windows XP. The Commission warned Microsoft that its plan to equip Vista with its own security software may amount to bundling and it urged the software company not to shut out rivals in the security software market. In 2004 the Commission found Microsoft guilty of shutting out rivals in the media player software market by bundling its Media Player with Windows. The company was also guilty of abusing its position in the workgroup server OS market. Microsoft was fined almost â¬500 million ($633 million) and was required to release a version of Windows without Media Player. In addition, Microsoft needed to make its server products better interoperate with competitors' offerings. Earlier this year it wasÂ fined an additional â¬280.5 millionÂ for failing to reveal details about the workings of Windows, as it was ordered to in the 2004 ruling. Microsoft has now submitted the information, which the Commission believes is necessary for restoring competition in the market for server operating systems. The Commission will decide in the coming months whether the information is sufficient. Meanwhile, the European Court of First Instance in Luxembourg is considering an appeal of the 2004 antitrust ruling lodged by Microsoft. The Court follows no strict timeframe. Most observers expect a ruling by next summer.ADVERTISEMENTMAKE SOA REAL WITH IBM WEBSPHERE PODCASTStreamline processes and maximize efficiency within a proven service oriented architecture. Take back control of your business processes with IBM WebSphere.
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European Union regulators said Monday they were investigating whether software giant Microsoft Inc. used its market dominance to squeeze out office software and Internet browser rivals.
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BRUSSELSâRisking another transatlantic tussle over Microsoft Corp., European Union antitrust regulators said yesterday they were investigating whether the software giant&#39;s deal with media conglomerate Time Warner Inc.
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European antitrust regulators worry that Microsoft could dominate the burgeoning market for digital rights management software
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Microsoft is looking for additional European-based firms to file challenges against the European Union&#39;s US$600 million ruling against the software giant.