European regulators have gone dramatically further than their US counterparts by imposing a record fine of €497 million ($A817 million) and product changes on US software giant Microsoft for stifling competitors
Published:
25 March 2004 y., Thursday
The European Union's competition commissioner, Mario Monti, yesterday announced at the end of a five-year investigation that he was fining the world's biggest software company for abusing its dominant market position.
The Italian commissioner also ordered Bill Gates's titan to offer a European version of its all-conquering Windows operating system without Windows Media Player within 90 days.
And Microsoft was ordered to disclose "complete and accurate" data to enable rival companies to offer low-end servers that can work with Windows within 120 days.
The financial penalty is the highest levied by the EU executive against a company.
The Seattle-based company, denying that it abuses its overwhelming dominance to illegally crush competitors, has already vowed to appeal the verdict at the European Court of Justice.
Monti said the sanctions laid down a clear marker for the future conduct of Microsoft, which escaped fines in a US anti-trust investigation.
Šaltinis:
theage.com.au
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
European Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas, responsible for transport, today presented to the College a preliminary assessment of the economic consequences for the air transport industry of the volcanic ash crisis.
more »
Boosting economic recovery, investing in Europe's youth and in tomorrow's infrastructures are the priorities of the 2011 draft budget adopted by the Commission on 27 April 2010.
more »
European Competition Commissioner Joaquín Almunia welcomes proposed commitments by Visa Europe to significantly cut its multilateral interchange fees (MIFs) for debit card payments.
more »
Because of the Icelandic volcano, flower growers in Colombia couldn't get their stems to markets in Europe.
more »
The Second Vice President of the Spanish government and Minister of Economy and Finance, Elena Salgado, on Sunday played down the importance of apparent fissures within the EU concerning the Greek financial crisis, expressing her confidence that all countries would support the aid package for this country, which will be accompanied by a tough budget-tightening plan.
more »
Commission launches an information campaign on the CE conformity mark - designed to ease the free movement of goods around Europe and protect consumers.
more »
If Europe's airports ever open again the introduction of new security measures like body scanners will be expensive.
more »
After Eurozone Finance Ministers agreed measures to address Greece’s financial woes last Sunday, MEPs quizzed leading economic figures, including the chairman of Goldman Sachs - former financial advisors to the Greek government - on how to strengthen EU economic governance and improve reporting of national statistics.
more »
The European Tourism Stakeholders Conference, being held in Madrid today and tomorrow, will explore ways and means to strengthen the visibility of tourism at a European level and to verify how the actions to promote a competitive EU tourism industry.
more »
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), World Bank Group member IFC, and The Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) have joined up with the Asia Debt Management Hong Kong (ADM Capital) to establish a regional fund to invest in midsize companies facing financing difficulties as a result of the financial crisis.
more »