EU fines Microsoft record $1.3 billion

[Shintai]

February 27 2008: 6:03 AM EST



Microsoft was fined a record $1.3 billion by the European Union for anti-trust violations related to software information.

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- The European Union fined Microsoft Corp. a record $1.3 billion on Wednesday for charging rivals too much for software information.

EU regulators said the company charged "unreasonable prices" until last October to software developers who wanted to make products compatible with the Windows desktop operating system.

Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) immediately said that these fines were about past issues that have been resolved and the company was now working under new principles to make its products more open.

The fine is the largest ever for a single company and the first time the EU has penalized a business for failing to obey an antitrust order.

The penalty far outweighs a a March 2004 decision that fined Microsoft $613 million and ordered it to share communications information with rivals within 120 days, taking an appeal to an EU court that it lost last September.

The EU alleged that Microsoft withheld crucial interoperability information for desktop PC software - where it is the world's leading supplier - to squeeze into a new market and damage rivals that make programs for workgroup servers that help office computers connect to each other and to printers and faxes.

The company delayed complying with the EU order for three years, the EU said, only making changes on Oct. 22 to the patent licenses it charges companies that need data to help them make software that works with Microsoft.

Microsoft had initially set a royalty rate of 3.87% of a licensee's product revenues for patents and demanded that companies looking for communication information - which it said was highly secret - pay 2.98% of their products' revenues.

The EU complained last March that these rates were unfair. Under threat of fines, Microsoft two months later reduced the patent rate to 0.7% and the information license to 0.5% - but only in Europe, leaving the worldwide rates unchanged.

The EU's Court of First Instance ruling that upheld regulators' views changed the company's mind again in October when it offered a new license for interoperability information for a flat fee of $14,000 and an optional worldwide patent license for a reduced royalty of 0.4%.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/27/tech...ion=2008022706

[n-sanity]

Not to be the devil's advocate, but that's just in ridiqulous.

[Slay0r]

Just heard about this on the tv, 890.000.000 euro fine

I overheard also that it has much to do with microsoft overcharging -certain- server side software houses (therefore their customers and users, rather than rivals) for compatibility informations and support.

Good grief though, ~1bil euro is quite the sum.

[w0mbat]

Thats just ing great! Finally someone shows M$ that u´ve to play fair in europe.

[MotF Bane]

Good to see Microshaft get hurt, even if its a bit absurdly high priced.

[Pinacolada]

Ouch ... !

U$ corporations have to learn some new rules for EU,it's not Africa or Asia where they can exploit everybody.
I'm waiting for EU to start to fine corporations who charge more EU than US users for same product.

[Ugly n Grey]

The fine is ridiculous, at that price point it's worth not doing business there.

[Motiv]

The fine is ridiculous, at that price point it's worth not doing business there.

Wrong on so many levels. It's basically saying if you want to do business you've got to understand in Europe we stick up for the little guys.

Many businesses in Europe in a multinational scale have to realise Europe has a socialist philosophy. If you don't play fair, we will make you.

MS had amble time and warning to get their act together and open up their monopoly. This ruling is not to Help just euopean but American, asian and the Rest of the world too.

It shows that Europe is open for business just don't make a mockery of competition.

[cozwin]

The fine is ridiculous, at that price point it's worth not doing business there.

the fine is more then fair, microsoft were charging the same price here in £ as they were in $ for vista and other OS's and this pissed the Eu off as it was same for Euros, so tbh its completely fair if not a little low.

[Marvin_The_Martian]

The fine is ridiculous, at that price point it's worth not doing business there.

Come on UnG, the fine is proportional to MS´s reveneu don´t you think? Bill didn't get rich with IDM shares you know, so I don't think this fine is ridiculous at all. It's about time the EU got their teeth in some off your US based coorperations if you ask me, never liked companies which act like their above the law.

[Shintai]

The fine is ridiculous, at that price point it's worth not doing business there.

EU is one of not the biggest market for MS. MS earns 4-6billion in profit per year there. Also this is simply to teach MS to do business the correct way. Its funny that EU companies now get it cheaper than US and the rest of the world. MS have been dragging the US goverment and others around their nose to the huge expense of the consumers. Now they just meet something they could not drag around. And even MS themselves agrees on it.

Its fine if you wish for Corporate goverment control. Then you can be some slave again.

[One_Hertz]

wow thats absolutely ridiculous.

[w0mbat]

Everyone who thinks this is ridiculous should go to school again. The EU is, thank god, not the USA and there are still some rules even if u have much money.

[Oc-Ghost]

Thank you EU for sticking it to the man(Ballmer)

[Morais]

Finish him!

[[XC] leviathan18]

still isnt a lot for MS they can pay that and a lot more.... if people doesnt like the way MS does business why dont change to linux and stop ing

[Revv23]

Haha if I were MS i would pull out of europe. then we would see who was bossing around who. I bet that communist leadership would set up a way to pirate thier software "in the name of the public good"

[Marvin_The_Martian]

still isnt a lot for MS they can pay that and a lot more.... if people doesnt like the way MS does business why dont change to linux and stop ing

BS

People use windows because MS has been very good in manipulating markets and as such is the NO1 operating system. That does not mean everyone should bow down to them or accept their buisiness practices.

If they brake a law, they get fined. If you break a law you get fined or thrown into jail, think it's fair for a company to be held liable to the laws off where ever it is their conducting buisiness.

You could turn it around, if MS doesn't like our laws they should stay out off the EU... But if you read Shintai's post, you'd know they won't and also the reason to why they won't.

[Shintai]

Haha if I were MS i would pull out of europe. then we would see who was bossing around who. I bet that communist leadership would set up a way to pirate thier software "in the name of the public good"

If MS loses their monopoly they will also die as a company. So it would be one big suicide for MS.
MS dont earn some 12-17billion$ a year on making good products. They do it via a monopoly and via the compability lock for peoples software. The same reason why MS is so dead scared of changing much in Windows without regaining compability.

[v_rr]

Intel will be the next in few years.
USA has proved many times that don´t control market, and EU happly put firms in the place were they belong.

[del_fuego]

It sure is a large sum but its not as if M$ didnt see it coming. Lets leave the patriotism at the door aswell, the EU fined Microsoft, not America.

[kiwi]

I agree with Revv23

Shintai, do you realize what would happen if MS stopped business in EU? Just think about it. Most can't live without MS, that's how it is

[Think]

Monopoly?

As far as I am concerned, Mac was and is worse with there proprietory systems.

[Shintai]

I agree with Revv23

Shintai, do you realize what would happen if MS stopped business in EU? Just think about it. Most can't live without MS, that's how it is

Let me assure you one thing that many many IT people seems to get wrong all the time. Nobody is so precious they can not be replaced. MS could be entirely replaced within 3-5years. The sole reason MS is where it is today, is because nobody uses the money and resources to get there. MS makes somewhat inferiour products. Its not like they make the cream of the cream products. Hell, we could even use OSX for a while tho it would not be the greatest thing. But billions of € would be spend to make a new foundation and alternative if pressed for it. And thats would mean bai bai MS.

There is entire goverments and corporations today that runs 100% without MS.

[[XC] leviathan18]

but mac doesnt make a ton of $ thats why you see everyone shouting at MS, MS is the big fish mac is nemo small and lost lol