Microsoft overcomes Daum lawsuit with $30m settlement

Microsoft has settled the latest in a long line of antitrust suits by getting out the Redmond chequebook once again.

The software giant ended the lawsuit by Korean ISP Daum with a payment of $30m. The settlement will take the form of a $10m cash settlement, $10m in advertising deals and a further $10m on unspecified business terms.

Hyun-Young Kim, vice president of Daum, said in a statement: "It is significant that we have reached this settlement with Microsoft on terms that we believe are favorable to Daum and to be able to work together with Microsoft to build a new business partnership."

In 2001, the Korean portal alleged Microsoft was breaching competition law by bundling its instant messaging program with Windows XP.

RealNetworks had also alleged antitrust violations by Microsoft in South Korea, saying the bundling of MediaPlayer with Windows shut out competition from the market. However, it dropped its complaints in a number of countries following a $761m settlement last month.

However, the South Korean Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has continued to investigate the alleged breaches and is expected to pass judgment on Microsoft soon.

Microsoft threw its toys out of the pram over the FTC's persistence in investigating it and has suggested it may be forced to pull Windows software from the country. A spokesman for the FTC said at the time such behaviour would not affect the investigation.