Microsoft must pay €497 million and 80 percent of the EC’s legal costs, says the European Court of First Instance in its latest ruling.
The antitrust dispute over whether Microsoft was justified in ‘bundling’ its Windows operating system with applications such as Windows Media Player, which has been running since 2004, was taken a stage further this morning when the court upheld its March 2004 finding that Microsoft had infringed Article 82 of the EC Treaty by abusing its dominant position.
In an announcement, the court said: “Microsoft has not demonstrated the existence of objective justification for the bundling and that the remedy imposed by the Commission is proportionate.
“On that point, the Court makes clear that Microsoft retains the right to continue to offer the version of Windows bundled with Windows Media Player and that it is required only to make it possible for consumers to obtain the operating system without that media player, a measure which does not mean any change in Microsoft’s current technical practice other than the development of that version of Windows.”
Microsoft in its turn has complained that the Commission has failed to suggest specific guidelines as to how it should behave. It has begun compiling protocols, or blueprints for the way its products interact, for the benefit of its rivals.
Speaking last year, Microsoft's Senior Vice President for legal affairs Brad Smith (pictured) set out the company's position: “The outcome of this case is critical not only for Microsoft, but for future innovation in our industry.
"Companies need to have confidence they won’t be forced to hand over their valuable intellectual property to their competitors. In addition, companies need to have confidence they can develop new products with the features their customers want."
In confirming its penalty on the software giant, The Court of First Instance stated that: “The Court finds that the Commission did not err in assessing the gravity and duration of the infringement and did not err in setting the amount of the fine.
"Since the abuse of a dominant position is confirmed by the Court, the amount of the fine remains unchanged at €497 million."
Microsoft has two months to appeal the latest ruling.
September 17 2007