Microsoft seeks deal in anti-trust case

Just days before key hearings in Brussels, Microsoft Corporation said today it was still seeking an amicable settlement of its antitrust case with the European Union.

“Microsoft remains committed to finding a constructive resolution to the case that addresses any concerns of the (European) Commission while preserving the company’s ability to innovate and to improve its products,” the US software giant said in a statement.

It faces charges it was illegally trying to extend the global dominance of its Windows operating systems into markets for servers, which tie desktop computers together, and multimedia players that let users play music and video on their computers.

Microsoft faces a maximum potential fine of about €2.9bn as well as an order to disclose more of its prized software code to rivals and change how it sells Windows software.

Last August, the EU told Microsoft market surveys found abuses were continuing despite the settlement last year of a landmark antitrust case against the company in the United States. It spelled out steps it wanted Microsoft to take to address those complaints.

A final decision by the EU head office is not expected until next year.

Although an American company, Microsoft can only do business in Europe if it abides by EU antitrust rules.

The outcome of the EU case will set the legal standards that will apply globally to Microsoft, the world’s biggest maker of computer software which has long dictated standards and norms in many areas of information technology.

EU officials open three days of closed door hearings on Wednesday – a day longer than usual at the company’s request.

The hearings offer Microsoft a chance to put its views to the Commission and officials of the 15 EU governments and to rebut antitrust allegations from rivals like Sun Microsystems Inc. and RealNetworks Inc.

Microsoft opponents such as the Washington-based Computer & Communications Industry Association will also testify.

While Microsoft said it was open to coming to a negotiated settlement, the company struck a defiant tone.

It said it has submitted “a robust response” to allegations it is guilty of abusing its dominant market position along with “extensive evidence to illustrate that significant consumer choice exists in the server operating systems and digital media markets today”.

It added it has “in no way limited its competitors ability to interoperate with the Windows server operating system, and that Microsoft’s actions have been pro-competitive and have resulted in products that offer great benefits to European consumers”.

The company argues the EU case undermines its innovative potential by forcing it to disclose more computer source code and separate certain functions from Windows.

EU officials largely back Microsoft’s rivals when they say Microsoft stymies the growth of competitors because it unfairly exploits the monopoly of its Windows operating system.

The EU executive Commission can fine violators of EU antitrust law up to 10% of their global annual sales. In the case of Microsoft that would exceed €2.9bn. In practice, however, EU fines have never exceeded 1% of global sales.