TopTechNews - Europe Goes for Microsoft's Jugular - by Jennifer LeCclair
Europe Goes for Microsoft's Jugular - by Jennifer LeCclair
In one of the two EC antitrust investigations, Opera Software has complained that Microsoft illegally ties Internet Explorer to its Windows OS. The European Commission also cited antitrust allegations that Microsoft shackles other software products to its OS, including desktop search and Windows Live. This round of investigations falls under two separate categories of alleged infringements of European Commission Treaty rules. The first case deals with interoperability. The second relates to tying separate software products together. Specifically, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office have come under scrutiny. "Recent press reports suggested Microsoft reached a grand settlement with the European Commission, and we expected it to be quiet for a while. Then we look up and a new investigation is under way," said Keith Hylton, a professor of law at the Boston University School of Law. "I was surprised to see a new investigation so soon."
