You are here: silicon.com > Management > Law & Policy

Law & Policy

EC to settle Microsoft's fate by mid-July

To fine, or not to fine...

Tags: antitrust, microsoft

By Graeme Wearden

Published: 7 June 2006 09:10 GMT

The European Commission may take until the middle of July to decide whether to impose on Microsoft a daily fine of €2m.

Europe's commissioners will meet for the last time sometime before the summer break on 19 July. A Commission representative told journalists on Tuesday that this was the latest date on which a decision could be taken on the fine, which follows a landmark 2004 antitrust ruling.

Commission sources later confirmed a decision could be taken earlier and denied that 19 July was inked in as D-Day for the EC's ongoing battle with the software giant. One insider said: "We've always been saying that we'll make a decision before the summer."

In 2004, the EC ruled that Microsoft had failed to allow rivals to compete fairly in the server software market and had stifled competition by bundling its Media Player with Windows.

Microsoft has since launched a version of its operating system without Media Player and released server interoperability protocols for licence - although this has failed to impress some critics.

At an appeal held in April, Microsoft argued it should not be fined, claiming it has complied with the 2004 ruling.

Graeme Wearden writes for ZDNet UK

  1. Zones
  2. Management
  3. Networks
  4. Software
  5. IT Services
  6. Hardware
  1. Verticals
  2. Public Sector
  3. Financial Services
  4. Retail & Leisure

Naked CIO Naked CIO: Social networks are useless for finding a job 'Quantity over quality' approach poisoning professional networks

Peter Cochrane Peter Cochrane's Blog: Uneconomics We must move away from short-termism to prevent next economic crisis


  • Jobs
Software Engineer, Audio Products, Cambridge, to 35K

audio streaming protocols ? Software Engineer, Audio Products, Cambridge, to 35K Internet Radio and Digital Media Player company is seeking a highly ...

Scientific Pharmaceutical Sales Account Manager UK

HQ based in Cambridge but due to the travel needed to Euro client sites you can work from home. Excellent communication skills and must speak a Euro ...

Field Operations Manager (Telecoms)

Maintaining an awareness of jobs that have failed, investigating the underlying reasons and putting in place actions to ensure effective resolution ...

Agenda Setters 2009
Welcome to the ninth annual Agenda Setters poll – silicon.com's list of the top 50 most influential individuals in the technology and IT industries, from techies and CIOs to entrepreneurs and business leaders. Find out more in our latest special report.





Quick Sitemap Links: