AFP: Microsoft loses landmark EU antitrust case
Microsoft loses landmark EU antitrust case
A top European court on Monday backed the European Commission in its anti-trust battle with Microsoft, ordering the world's biggest software maker to pay a record 497 million euro (690 million dollar) fine."This judgement confirms the objectivity and the credibility of the commission's competition policy," commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said. "This policy protects the European consumer interest and ensures fair competition between businesses." The tribunal confirmed the commission's 2004 antitrust finding that Microsoft had used its 95-percent share in operating systems in personal computers to crush rivals in other linked markets.Billed as one of the biggest EU court judgements ever, the verdict holds huge stakes for Microsoft and for Europe's capacity to regulate corporate giants from all over the world.
Brussels fined Microsoft a further 280 million euros in July 2006 after finding that it was not respecting its original ruling, and the company faces further penalties that could bring the total well past one billion euros. However, the Commission has been waiting to see whether the court would back its original ruling before pushing ahead with further action against Microsoft.
Note EU-Digest: This is not so much a victory for the EU as that it is a victory for all consumers. Large Corporations should not only represent power to control the market, but also respect for smaller corporations. Another example of the benefit to having a European Union who serves its people.
