Memo: Antitrust: Commission welcomes General Court judgment in Microsoft compliance case

The European Commission on 27 June 2012 welcomed the judgment by the General Court in case T-167/08 Microsoft v Commission. The judgment essentially upholds a 2008 Commission decision imposing a penalty payment on Microsoft for not complying with the Commission's 2004 Microsoft Decision, which was upheld by the Court in 2007.

The judgment is the first in which the General Court has ruled on a penalty payment imposed on a company for non-compliance with an antitrust prohibition decision. The Court's ruling vindicates the Commission's efforts to ensure full compliance with its antitrust decisions, in particular the 2004 decision. As a result of the Commission's enforcement action, a range of innovative products have come to market that would otherwise not have seen the light of day.

European Commission: MEMO/12/498: Statement by Vice President Joaquín Almunia following General Court judgment in Case T-167/08 Microsoft vs Commission http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/12/498&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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