‘Non-compliant’ Microsoft punished

US software giant Microsoft will appeal against a decision by the European Commission to fine it nearly €300 million for failing to comply with a 2004 antitrust decision, according to the company's top lawyer.

Speaking on 12 July, Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith said that "any level of fine" was "inappropriate" because the Commission had not been sufficiently clear about the type of technical documentation the company needed to provide to comply with the 2004 ruling. The Commission had only said it was seeking "complete and accurate" technical specifications, Smith said, adding that Microsoft would appeal against the Commission's decision in the European Court of Justice on these grounds.

Microsoft has met every deadline set by the Commission for providing documentation, he said. Smith added he was surprised by the Commission's decision to impose a fine as the final deadline for supplying documentation of 24 July had not yet passed.

Yesterday European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes announced that Microsoft would become the first company in EU history to be fined for failing to comply with a ruling ordering it to stop exploiting its near monopoly, in this case in the PC operating system market. She is fining the company €280.5 million or €1.5m a day backdated to 16 December for failing to provide adequate technical documentation to allow rival software companies to develop products which can interoperate with Microsoft's server software.

She warned that the daily fine could increase to €3m a day from 31 July if the company had not complied by that date.

"Microsoft has still not put an end to its illegal conduct. I have no alternative but to levy penalty payments for this continued non-compliance. No company is above the law," she said.

But despite the Commission's decision, Microsoft has extended its dominance in the server market, having increased its market share by over 12% since 2002.

US software giant Microsoft will appeal against a decision by the European Commission to fine it nearly €300 million for failing to comply with a 2004 antitrust decision, according to the company's top lawyer.

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