E.U. Launches Additional Frivolous Lawsuit
January 17th, 2009 at 11:42 am - by Ana Danijela
The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, accused Microsoft of - yet again - anti-competitive behavior with regard to the way it bundles Internet Explorer and other products with the Microsoft Windows operating system.
The Commission, on Thursday, sent Microsoft a Statement of Objections outlining the preliminary view that Microsoft’s bundling of a web-browser with their dominant operating system is a form of vertical anti-competitive behavior, which is against the law under European competition law with abuse of a dominant position.
The Statement said that the method in which Microsoft distributes their Microsoft Internet Explorer product harms competition between web browsers such as Firefox, Opera, Safari and other private developments in a way which stifles innovation and ultimately inhibits consumer choice.
“Microsoft has 8 weeks to reply the SO, and will then have the right to be heard in an Oral Hearing should it wish to do so. If the preliminary views expressed in the SO are confirmed, the Commission may impose a fine on Microsoft, require Microsoft to cease the abuse and impose a remedy that would restore genuine consumer choice and enable competition on the merits.”
The evidence gathered by the Commission consists of the ridiculously obvious claim that Microsoft’s distribution model ensures that Internet Explorer is installed on over 90 per cent of home computers, which in turn causes a shift of incentives for content publishers and web developers to ensure that their products work on Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, in turn providing a cyclical-force which negatively effects all competitive browsers.
Last year, the E.U. fined Microsoft $1.4 billion in a similar case regarding Microsoft’s Windows Media Player, leading a number of journalists to call this another example of the European Union making a public example of Microsoft as an effective source of capital.
January 17, 2009 at 1:16 PM
This is a misappropriation of facts. A company complained, the EU investigates the case. Competition law is about setting up a free market.
If a competitor complains and it turns out that he has legal grounds for the complaint the company receives a ruling with which it needs to comply. As simple as that. All companies understand that and simply comply.
The fines for Microsoft were because of non-compliance with the ruling, a novelty in the European context that was shocking for European authorities.
Microsoft tried to bully the Commission on political grounds. But it is very simple. This the EU and we set the rules for all companies. Our rules apply for domestic companies as they apply to foreign companies that operate on our markets. It is not upon foreign companies to criticize them.
The EU enforces Free Markets, Microsoft understands that its business model is not based on a Free Market.
As this new case an fresh complaint by Opera was received and processed:
“The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, accused Microsoft of - yet again - anti-competitive behavior with regard to the way it bundles Internet Explorer and other products with the Microsoft Windows operating system.”
It is very simple, Opera, a Norwegian competitor complained against bundling. So the Commission asks Microsoft to answer.
This one case has nothing to do with the other. But you can be sure that the European authorities learned their lesson from the first case where Microsoft played ruthless games of non-compliance.