____/ nessuno@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx on Tuesday 18 September 2007 15:22 : \____
> <Quote>
> [Microsoft "smacked down", summary of recent news...]
>
> Neelie Kroes, the European competition commissioner, said the problem
> is what Microsoft has done with its market power.
>
> "Let me be clear, ladies and gentlemen, there is one company that will
> have to change its illegal behavior as a result of this ruling, and
> that is Microsoft," Kroes said at a news conference.
>
> Kroes called the court's decision "bittersweet," saying that "the
> court has confirmed the commission's view that consumers are suffering
> at the hands of Microsoft." She called on Microsoft to "desist from
> engaging in its anti-competitive conduct."
>
> ....
>
> Microsoft paid the $600 million antitrust fine long ago. And the
> ruling doesn't require the company to stop selling the full version of
> Windows in Europe, just to offer an alternative version without the
> media player. Demand for that alternative version has been tepid, at
> best.
>
> [Immediate financial impact on MS is small...]
>
> However, the Monday ruling also leaves open the possibility of
> additional fines. Kroes already fined the company an additional $351
> million in July 2006, saying that it hadn't adequately prepared the
> technical documentation for server rivals.
>
> Since then, Kroes has threatened further fines -- potentially totaling
> more than $1.5 billion -- over the terms Microsoft has proposed for
> the licenses. In addition to reasonable pricing, Kroes wants the terms
> to be amenable to companies that distribute open-source software....
> </Quote>
>
> http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/332064_msfteu18.html?source=mypi
Action in Japan, maybe Korea, and the United States to follow.
Microsoft foresees more suits in Japan
,----[ Quote ]
| A legal battle between Microsoft and Japanese anti-monopoly authorities
| is likely to conclude next year and might lead to lawsuits or other
| patent infringement complaints against the U.S. software company,
| an executive said Thursday.
|
| [...]
|
| Microsoft has been slapped with hefty fines by European Union regulators,
| who have said Microsoft broke competition laws and abused its dominant
| market position.
`----
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070412/ap_on_hi_te/japan_microsoft
This set an important precedence.
--
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