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EU presses on with MS antitrust case

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CIOL Bureau
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David Lawsky

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BRUSSELS: The European Commission said its antitrust case against Microsoft Corp will move full speed ahead despite Microsoft settlements with Novell Inc and an embattled trade group.

Commission spokeswoman Amelia Torres's comments came only weeks before a new European competition commissioner is set to take office, who will be in a position to reconsider whether to take the case forward or settle it.

"Antitrust enforcement by the Commission does not hinge upon complaints by individual parties," said Torres, who will serve as spokeswoman until some time later this month. Instead, she said, the Commission "is geared towards protecting the consumer's interests."

The Commission has ordered Microsoft to make immediate changes in its business practices, but the software giant has asked a European Union judge to suspend that order. A new competition commissioner, Neelie Kroes, is expected to take over from Commissioner Mario Monti later this month or early next month.

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Kroes has not tipped her hand about her plans for the Microsoft case. But she does know Bill Gates, having once given him an award when she served as a college president.

In the United States, Microsoft said it will pay $536 million in cash to settle an antitrust lawsuit tied to Novell's Netware network software and reached a deal with its long-time bitter opponent, the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA).

BLACK SURPRISES

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CCIA and its president, Ed Black, agreed to stop supporting the Commission's case against Microsoft in Europe, surprising many observers who had known Black for years for his steadfast opposition to the software giant.

Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith said four of the five major plaintiffs had now settled with Microsoft in Europe.

The Commission decided in March that Microsoft had violated the EU's antitrust laws and ordered it to pay a 497 million euro ($640.1 million) fine.

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Microsoft has appealed, but a court decision will take years. In the meantime, Microsoft has asked that sanctions against it be suspended. A judge at the European Union's Court of First Instance is expected to rule later this year.

The judge is to decide whether to suspend two remedies.

First, the Commission ordered Microsoft to make available its protocols, or software rules, to rivals so that their work-group servers are on a level playing field when it comes to communicating with Microsoft desktop computers. Work-group servers give access to files and run printing services.

The Commission also ordered Microsoft to sell a version of Windows to computer makers without its Windows Media Player, so that the computer makers could offer a version with a rival, such as RealNetworks Real Player.

(Additional reporting by Peter Nielsen)

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