Print - What the...? EU Fines Microsoft $1.3 Billion

It looks like Microsoft's massive interoperability pledge last week didn't have the desired effect. Today, regulators from the European Union (EU) announced that they are fining Microsoft $1.3 billion for failing to comply with the 2004 antitrust judgment against the company. The EU has now fined Microsoft over $2.5 billion over the years for failing to meet the conditions of this ruling.

So what was Microsoft offense this time around? According to the EU, the company has yet to produce the technical documentation that would allow its competitors in the workgroup server market to create products that more seamlessly integrated with Microsoft's products. It was also charging unfair licensing fees. But Microsoft basically issued that documentation and more last week. And that publication in some ways even exceeded the EU requirements because it is now available freely to anyone that wants it; before, companies would have to pay a licensing fee and enter into a trade secrets licensing agreement to acquire that information.

Microsoft says it is reviewing the EU's decision but notes that the European Commission (EC) said in October that Microsoft "was in full compliance with the 2004 decision, so these fines are about past issues that have been resolved." The EU's continued belligerence--EU regulators publicly mocked Microsoft's documentation publication and interoperability announcement last week before even reviewing what the company had done--is somewhat unsettling.

Even more unsettling, for Microsoft, is that the 2004 antitrust ruling is just one of three separate antitrust actions that the EU is considering against the company. It is separately conducting two other antitrust investigations against the company, involving product tying and Office document interoperability. Not coincidentally, Microsoft's interoperability announcement last week completely addresses the second of those two concerns. Given the EU's behavior with regards to Microsoft lately, however, it's unclear whether they'll see it that way.

Socialism at its best(worst)...punish people - or in this case a company - for being successful. Gotta redistribute the wealth!!! --tayme

here's a thought: what if they just charged users more there, while still charging every country within the EU equally? the EC doesn't have any jurisdiction outside of the EU, and everyone in the rest of the world would be happy that their paying less....if the EC complained, what would happen if Microsoft threatened to pull their business out of the EU? XP

This is, as in my opinion it always has been, blackmail pure and simple. We can all sit in the bar and argue about hoew Microsoft has done this or that, but in the final analysis I think that Microsoft has not done anything that any company has to do to stay competitive. If they did less the stockholders would accuse them of sloppy management and poor planning, and if they do more they are being "unfair" to the competition. Isn't the object of any business to beat the competition? I don't think that the EU is interested in anything except draining the most cash that they can from Microsoft. They are a sanctioned Mafia and no more. I hope that Microsoft has the guts to tell them they don't need the business in the areas they are supposed to represent, and if that happened the individual countries in the EU would be slinking to Microsoft's back door begging to make a deal.

Arrogant POS liberals.... They have screwed up everything else in their part of the world, now looking to do it to everyone else.

EU Rulings are simple; 1. DO EXACTLY WHAT THEY TELL YOU 2. DO IT EXACTLY WHEN THEY TELL YOU Or else you will get fined All the EU companies that have been "done" have worked this out, why does microsoft think that different rules will be applied to them?, or that it can play fast and loose with EU courts and legal processes? I would also note that the competion commissioner has no problem with monopolies or duopolies, only when the company abuses it's power to styfill competition (e.g. blocking new enterants) do they get interested.

"The EU's continued belligerence--EU regulators publicly mocked Microsoft's documentation publication and interoperability announcement last week before even reviewing what the company had done--is somewhat unsettling." I don't think this is the end of Microsoft's troubles. Neelie seems to be obsessed with the company. Considering how much authority the courts have given her, Microsoft is in for a long, long battle. This whole issue is almost comical and reminds me of the 'Soup Nazi' in Seinfeld.

Microsoft should just say Good-By to the EU and stop dealing with the countries involved. Just the threat to stop dealing with the countries would bring the EU begging Microsoft to come back because the countries within the EU would not be able to operate without Microsoft’s OS and Applications. If Microsoft would stop to exist as we know them now, the world would go into such a depression as we have never seen. It would take years before other companies could evolve to where Microsoft is now and the monetary expense would be enormous. The world has a lot to thank Microsoft for developing computing to where it is now and needs to stop punishing them for doing so. Other companies should look at Microsoft and start to run their companies in the same manor instead of punishing Microsoft with lawsuits.

If I were Microsoft, I'd threaten them that we were about to stop doing business in the EU, and would be recalling all licenses for any O/S' and Applications. Any person or business in the EU running a Microsoft product after a certain date, would be guilty of piracy, and we will be suing!

"Just the threat to stop dealing with the countries would bring the EU begging Microsoft to come back because the countries within the EU would not be able to operate without Microsoft’s OS and Applications" It must be really good in your world, but here in the real world, Microsoft would come begging long before the EU would, do you think for one moment that the EU would just stop using MS products and just wipe them from their hard drives? I don't, I think it would become a free-for-all in Europe, and third parties would come in to fill the gaps. "All the EU companies that have been "done" have worked this out, why does microsoft think that different rules will be applied to them?, or that it can play fast and loose with EU courts and legal processes?" IPRAM, has hit the nail on the head. So I ask, why do you think different rules apply to Microsoft? instead of calling the EU names like little girls, tell me how Microsoft treatment is any different than any EU company that has found its self brought to task by the EU system? "They have screwed up everything else in their part of the world, now looking to do it to everyone else." iantech, you haven't got a pass port, have you? "Socialism at its best(worst)...punish people - or in this case a company - for being successful. Gotta redistribute the wealth!!!" $1.3 billion, Google the GDP of the EU, cos we so poor we need the money, or maybe Microsoft was fined for breaking EU law and refusing to become compliant to EU law, and at a cost of $2.4 million per day, Microsoft knew exactly how much it would cost them to ignore the judgement.

@notawindowsuser - It seems to me that MS has complied - all be it a little slowly. But can you blame them for that? What about intellectual property? Can you provide an example of another company that has been "brought to task" by the EU in the manner which we are seeing here? "$1.3 billion, Google the GDP of the EU, cos we so poor we need the money" - I'm not sure what you are trying to say here...can you restate? --tayme

Doesn't matter if it's the EU or the UN; they all look on the USA as the global feedbag. Too bad MS doesn't just quit marketing or supporting any MS product in the EU. Pull out all their offices, representatives, shut down all their activities and ignore the "EU". Set the update servers to delete any OS or other MS product that comes in from any EU ISP. MS has obviously been dealing with a bunch of psuedo-legalized international bloodsuckers.

For the paranoid of america, July 2001 "The European Union has raided all nine British and German mobile phone companies as part of the Union-wide investigation into price fixing, according to Competition Commissioner Mario Monti in Brussels." Rest of article at http://news.zdnet.co.uk/emergingtech/0,1000000183,2091107,00.htm If you don't do what an EU court says, WHEN it tells you to do it it gets expensive, and if you operate in the EU you can have the premises raided, and relevant documents seized if you are not obeying the law. Look at it this way it's legal to do 70 mph in the UK, what would a US cop say in a 55mph state? As for those who think MS can shred contracts on a whim, the US Courts have a different view (also expensive) In market terms the US is about $13.1 trillion GDP (06), and the EU $12.9 trillion, back in 04, and before it got more member states. Not selling in the EU is business suicide more a multinational. If you make a business choice not to pay, or simply can not get organise to comply, then dont whinge when you get fined