EU court sets MS hearing for Sept 30

David Lawsky

BRUSSELS: Microsoft will face off against the European Commission on September 30 in a European Union court in Luxembourg, seeking a suspension of sanctions against it for several years, the court announced on Tuesday.

The Commission found that Microsoft abused its dominance of PC operating systems and in March ordered the software giant to make changes by mid-June to create a more level playing field for rivals.

Microsoft appealed and asked the Court of First Instance to suspend the sanctions until the case is completed, probably three or more years from now.

"The President of the Court of First Instance has set the 30 September-1 October as the date for an oral hearing concerning Microsoft's request for suspension of the Commission's decision and other interim measures," the court said in a statement.

The EU executive says that if the remedies are suspended they will become irrelevant by the time the case is over, years from now, while Microsoft says the sanctions will damage the company in ways that cannot be undone.

While Microsoft's request is pending, the Commission has voluntarily suspended its order that Microsoft offer a version of its Windows operating system without its Media Player audiovisual software and provide more information to rival makers of server software.

The company has paid a record fine of 497 million euros ($604.9 million), which was also part of the decision.

"We look forward to making our case to the Court," a Microsoft spokesman said. "We believe we have a strong case for suspension and that the remedies as currently proposed by the Commission would harm consumers, the industry and Microsoft."

A spokesman for the Commission said the remedies were not mere proposals, as Microsoft suggested, but were in fact orders.

"They are remedies which are ordered, and if the decision is not suspended then these remedies need to be executed," said the Commission spokesman, Tilman Lueder.

Lueder said the decision provided more consumer choice than existed today.

Microsoft has settled many of its cases in the United States, and recently won a major victory on sanctions before an appeals court in Washington.

It still faces legal action in other countries, including South Korea and Japan.

For example, the company on Monday decided to seek hearings before the Japanese Fair Trade Commission to appeal a recommendation that the software maker's contracts with computer makers violate antitrust law.

"Microsoft ... is unable to accept the demands of the (Japanese Fair Trade Commission) recommendation," the company said in a release published on its Website.