New Antitrust Complaint Filed Against Microsoft

jimboid and others wrote in about a new antitrust complaint filed against Microsoft in the European Union, concerning Windows XP (all previous litigation has concerned earlier versions of Windows). The BBC and Sydney Morning Herald have articles about the complaint.

Comments

More interesting quote by the CCIA

[James_Duncan8181]

"The forms of Microsoft's abusive conduct are often closely interrelated, and their market foreclosure effects in many instances reinforce each other. The effectiveness of Microsoft's anti-competitive behaviours in preserving Microsoft's existing desktop dominance and in leveraging that dominance into related markets can only truly be understood if these behaviours and their exclusionary impact are viewed as a whole, rather than examined in isolation from each other."

Is it just me or do these guys appear to be the first legal agressors against Micorsoft to understand the real issue?

Re:More interesting quote by the CCIA

[Anonymous Coward]

I think most people understood it, but its hard to argue in court that their general attitude is anti-competitive. Instead, you need to deal with specific cases, such as a particular action (perhaps detailed by an internal email) designed to have a specific effect.

Many people would not disagree that BillG is 'evil' in some sense. But converting that into an argument that would hold up in a court of law (ie. criminal) requires specific allegations,and each allegation, by itself, is not particularly serious.

Re:More interesting quote by the CCIA

[James_Duncan8181]

The point about the EU investigation is that it is instructed to take an overall view. A investigation by an EU Commissioner is not like a DA considering whether to make charges - Mario Monti is judge, jury, and exicutioner. If he feels that fines are neccisary then he can levy them. And it is important to note that these are not pissant fines - they can be up to 10% of revenue made during the period over which they are held to be infining (also defined by the Commisioner).

I know, I know, insert declaimation of dictatorship here. ;)

Re:More interesting quote by the CCIA

[glamslam]

"Is it just me or do these guys appear to be the first legal agressors against Micorsoft to understand the real issue?"

Of course people here (in the US) will say its really just anti-American retaliation for the steel tariffs.

Re:More interesting quote by the CCIA

[dbrutus]

Let's see, the repeated instances of gross fraud come to mind. They lie as part of their standard business practice. From selling ISVs dev kits that claim to be the same as those used internally in MS (they aren't, MS app programmers have access to a few extra tools), to purposefully sabotaging interoperability with competitors (DR-DOS, Lotus, Java, numerous others) in such a way as to put the blame on the competitor, Microsoft has proven itself to be a company who doesn't mind lying and destroying economic value as long as its complicated and is only found out years to late to save the competitor's viability.

Fraud is something that is inimical to the free enterprise system, nobody short of outright anarchists defends it. Stopping fraud is a basic, core mission of government. When fraud is used as a core element of a business plan people should start going to jail until fraud ceases to be part of the business plan. If that's taking too long, the business should be shut down entirely.

MS is a pathologic case, genius combined with immoral disregard for the truth. Anti-trust is just an indirect way to get at the results of this problem.

Summary??

[OttoM]

My goodness, the summary is already 19 pages.

Luckily the summary of the summary (the key facts) is only 2 pages.

The nice thing is...

[James_Duncan8181]

That Mario Monti has the power to examine all complaints made *as a whole* rather then being limited to only those made at the start of the process. This judicial effectiveness is why the EU will not always be stuck playing catch-up with MS, unlike the US. In addition, the political climate in Brussels is a lot less favorable for MS (think Reno rather then Ashcroft) and the EU has previously made several rulings agains MS Passport etc.

Could be good. ;)

antitrust suits

[odyrithm]

How long can this go on for? you cant keep pulling the same company for antitrust violations.. wasnt Microsoft supposed to be split up? what ever happened there? this is just going to carry on and on and on.. its getting pretty frustrating really.

Re:antitrust suits

[jonathan_ingram]

Imagine the fun if foreign courts enforced laws in distant lands.

Such as having a Russian arrested for breaking, while in Russia, a US law?

Or a Norwegian arrested for putatively breaking, while in Norway, a US law?

Re:antitrust suits

[Saint Fnordius]

The EU was waiting to see if the US courts were going to spank Microsoft first. Since the result isn't satisfactory for the EU, the EU will start taking matters into their own hands.

Granted, this will at first only affect customers in the EU, but that a big market. Microsoft can't just soak up the punishment without shareholders revolting. And caving in to the EU means that customers elsewhere will want the same benefits. Microsoft will then see themselves pressured to meet their demands or fork their development.

The wheels of justice are slow, but we're all so used to instant results that it gets frustrating too soon. Sometimes it pays to be patient and persistant.

Re:antitrust suits

[capt.Hij]

How long can this go on for?

It can go on for a very long time. This is what happened to IBM. When they got huge and started pushing the markets around, governments were hitting them from all sides. Between the constant nit-picking and their own lethargy, they eventually lost their market share.

It seems that history is repeating itself. MS is trying to get involved in everything under the sun [sic] and governments have their sights set on them. MS will eventually lose focus as it worries about revenue from the x-box, personal PC's, cell phones, internet ready refrigerators, and maybe even operating systems and software. At the same time, governments are looking for ways to reduce the power of this growing company.

Re:antitrust suits

[HiThere]

From my really brief perusal of the article it looks like this is a new complaint about additional violations. That they are being merged into the same case, if they are, strikes me as a procedural issue. And if they continue to commit new crimes, isn't it proper that new charges be filed?

I don't see any injustice here. Perhaps the potential for injustice, but the recent history of US courts doesn't make me feel that we are in any position to carp. Consider the Rico acts, where they sieze your property upon your being accused. This prevents you from being able to hire a lawyer. It is also acting on a presumption of guilt. And somehow much of the property never returns to the original owner, even if the charges are defeated. Sorry. The last time Europe had laws that corrupt (to my knowledge) was during the inquisition. We've even revived holding people without access to a lawyer or knowledge of the charges against them. Yes, it's blatantly unconstitutional, but that doesn't seem to be stopping them. So I don't see any room for complaint about Europe having a few procedural differences.

P.S.: You think the US has evolved away from railroading? Only if you are politically powerful. Look over the court decisions of the last few decades. The direction is the other way.

Another take

[Anonymous Coward]

See The Register for another take on the matter.

Re:UK switching to Linux

[Compaqed]

I know in many Distros already have a Tea Bag timer in it. See it was designed for the UK!

Litigation..

[grub]

All this litigation and chest beating costs millions of dollars/pounds/euros. Why don't the respective governments make a proactive move by mandating that free software be used rather than MS stuff. I don't doubt for a moment that all the harshly written criticisms of MS by these people are done on MS-Word.

Oh, the irony.

Powers of Darkness

[EEgopher]

Microsoft might actually lose when going up against Satan! Did you see the CCIA's address?

666 11th St. NW
Washington, DC 20001

Worldwide or local outcomes?

[WPIDalamar]

I wonder if the EU were to find MS guilty, and specify a bunch of things they have to do to windows, if that would stretch world-wide or just in the jurisdiction of the EU. Since MS is a US company, I always assumed a lawsuit against them in the US would be world-wide, but now I wonder.

I also wonder about the civil suits. Sun sued microsoft to get java included in a US court. Does it apply everywhere, just in the US, just where MS and Sun do business, just where some trade treaty says?

Re:Worldwide or local outcomes?

[Anonymous Coward]

I always assumed a lawsuit against them in the US would be world-wide...

Only an American would think this way.

Ah, this one has teeth!

[AntiFreeze]

Quoth the BBC article:

The CCIA counts Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Yahoo and Nokia among its members.

The organisation said it had filed the new complaint in order to fight for customers.

"Microsoft's overwhelming dominance and its abuse of that dominance reaches into every corner of Europe and harms virtually every business and consumer who uses a computer," the association said.

This organization consists of companies who _know_ what they're talking about when it comes to computers and competition (and anti-competitive tactics, for that matter), and are taking up the fight from the _consumers'_ point of view. I think it is this twist which might lead to actual rulings which will stop Microsoft's hard-edged and illegal tactics.

Remember, Microsoft has had _two_ separate antitrust ruling against it (i.e. has been found guilty not once, but twice), but neither has had the bite to make any noticable differences in the way Microsoft has acted. Both suits really focused upon MS's anti-competitive methods, and not enough focus on what MS was doing to the consumers. This angle might just be what is needed.

Of course, since this is an EU case, who knows how a ruling with teeth might affect Microsoft - it would certainly affect them overseas, but here in America a difference might not be noticable.

Re:Ah, this one has teeth!

[bwalling]

This organization consists of companies who _know_ what they're talking about when it comes to computers and competition (and anti-competitive tactics, for that matter), and are taking up the fight from the _consumers'_ point of view.

Do not kid yourself. They are taking up the fight for the purpose of helping themselves. They do not care about the consumer. That just helps their argument. The whole point is so that they can make some more of the money that Microsoft is making.

That being said, I hope they win, because they do happen to be right.

Not Sure I agree..." judicial effectiveness "

[N8F8]

I'd sure hate to be the defendant in a case where the prosecutor or legislature could trump up or morph the charges whenever they want. The solution otthe US's problem is forcing a faster process (as is now being done in some federal criminal courts), not making it unreasonable to defend yourself.

Key Facts, Acrobat Free

[Anonymous Coward]

CCIA COMPLAINT AGAINST MICROSOFT
KEY FACTS

When: CCIA's complaint was formally filed with the European Commission Directorate General
for Competition on 31 January 2003.

Background: The Windows desktop operating system is installed on over 93% of personal
computers in Europe and worldwide. Microsoft has held a dominant position on this market
position for the past decade. Microsoft also has a monopoly in the market for personal productivity
applications (word processors, spread sheets, etc) and the market for Internet browsing software.

Microsoft's behaviour in the market has been the subject of ongoing competition scrutiny since
1991. Its behaviour has resulted in both an "undertaking" with the European Commission in 1994
and a unanimous liability finding by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 2001.

Microsoft has systematically and deliberately engaged in illegal practices designed both to protect its Windows monopoly and leverage it into adjacent software markets. Microsoft has used its market power to eliminate competition and stifle innovation in market after market. Unprecedented in modern commerce, Microsoft's monopolies generate margins in excess of 80 percent and profits in excess of US$1 billion per month.

Microsoft's well-documented anticompetitive campaign against Netscape's Navigator web browser
and Sun's Java programming language has resulted in a new monopoly in Internet browsing
software, and sets the stage for the current CCIA complaint.

Focus of the Complaint: The latest version of Windows XP takes Microsoft's abusive practices to
a new level, illegally protecting Microsoft's existing monopolies and is illegally eliminating
competition in new software and service markets. This complaint seeks the intervention of the
European Commission to put an end to the multiple forms of abuse inherent in Windows XP.

The 260-page complaint comprises an exhaustive factual and legal basis for Commission action,
documenting multiple ways in which Windows XP violates Article 82 of the EC Treaty prohibiting
abuse of a dominant position. These abuses include:

Explorer, Outlook Express, Windows Media Player, Windows Messenger, and Windows Movie
Maker 2;
Biasing the user interface and operation of Windows XP to significantly advantage Microsoft's
own software and services over competitive offerings;
Refusing to fully disclose the document formats for the programs in Microsoft's Office suite of
applications, in order to reinforce the "applications barrier to entry;"
Imposing proprietary technologies, formats and protocols in Microsoft's dominant products with
the effect of excluding competition on the merits;
Imposing abusive licensing and other exclusionary practices vis-à-vis personal computer makers
to foreclose the most important distribution channel from competing products;
Leveraging dominant positions to distort competition in markets for e-mail and collaboration
server software;
Leveraging existing dominant positions to the markets for handheld computing devices and
smart phone software through bundling, failure to supply interface information, and the use of
proprietary formats and protocols.

Legal basis of complaint: The facts alleged in the CCIA complaint rest squarely within Article 82 of
the EC Treaty.

Article 82 imposes on dominant market players a special responsibility not to allow their
conduct to impair genuine undistorted competition on the common market, and prohibits such
firms from limiting markets, production or technical development to the detriment of consumers.
Microsoft uses methods other than those falling within the scope of competition on the merits to
eliminate competitors and thereby strengthen its multiple positions of superdominance. For
example, Microsoft's bundling in Windows XP squarely falls within Article 82's prohibition on
tying, foreclosing competition for the bundled Microsoft products, and leveraging Microsoft's
market power into new markets. The Court of First Instance of the European Union recently
reaffirmed the illegality of such behaviour in its Tetra Laval decision.

Impact on Consumers: Microsoft's anticompetitive conduct with Windows XP directly impacts
consumers in multiple ways.

Fewer choices of software products and very limited differentiation among personal computer
offerings;
Less innovation in the critical software markets which Microsoft dominates;
Higher prices for Microsoft's software products than would otherwise occur in a competitive
market;
Rampant security breaches in Microsoft's core products resulting from the lack of market forces
to develop secure software;
Less privacy associated with the manner in which Microsoft biases its consumer services in
Windows XP.

Intersection with Current Case: This is a separate complaint. Actions taken by the Commission
pursuant to its existing Statement of Objections cannot address the unlawful conduct inherent in
Windows XP, which include new abuses intended to extend its existing desktop monopolies.

Extraordinary array (6)

[Anonymous Coward]

Microsoft bundles an extraordinary array of products with Windows XP.
They include:
- Internet Explorer (browser);
- MSN Explorer (browser);
- Windows Media Player (media player);
- Windows Messenger (instant messaging client);
- Outlook Express (e-mail client); and
- Windows Movie Maker (video editor).

Wouldn't most people these days consider these things fairly standard applications that should come with an OS.
I know I would hate to have to pay for an OS, and then buy a browser, media player, email client, video editor, messenger. And I guess also paint, notepad, calculator, etc.

If they aren't, then why do most linux distros have all those things included in the standard desktop install...

Re:Extraordinary array (6)

[Diabolical]

The main problem with the array of products MS incorporates in XP is that competitors do not stand a chance trying to sell their products. Basicly because everything seems to be connected to each other and installing a competitors product could, and would, break something. The fact that MS bundles this software with it's operating system is what is considered anti-competitive and more importantly leveraging this bundle with it's dominant OS position and thus gaining an unfair advantage to which competitors have to fight.

I.e. the products do not gain their market dominance because of their own merits but because it comes with another product which has almost 100% market share.

As for your remark about linux: If you do not like the browser, media player or any other software package coming with your distro you can remove it and install something you do like without having to fear you would break something else. Furthermore, if you do not want any of these tools at all just roll your own linux distro. Try that with Windows......

Re:Why not just leave them alone?

[FyRE666]

What was Microsoft done that warrents so much hate?

[...]
Face it folks, we would not be where we are today if not for Microsoft...

You see, you just answered your own question!

Jeeez...

[Black Parrot]

These guys practically have a monopoly on receiving anti-trust complaints!

poll...

[DonFinch]

just curious, how many peolpe saying "yay! MS sucks! I hate Bill! Its the evil empire!" Are typing from Internet Explorer, while listening to mp3's in WMP 9 on XP??

Re:poll...

[4lex]

just curious, how many peolpe saying "yay! MS sucks! I hate Bill! Its the evil empire!" Are typing from Internet Explorer, while listening to mp3's in WMP 9 on XP?? ...

That's why they know it sucks ;P

Re:poll...

[Col. Klink (retired)]

Followup poll:

How many are saying the same, but browsing from something other than IE while masquerading their user-agent as MSIE so they don't get locked out of various web sites?

Re:poll...

[GooberToo]

You mean you think it's ironic that people would be using the software that they hate that's more or less been forced on them? Especially if they are currently at work?

Wow...

Re:Why not just leave them alone?

[Anonymous Coward]

I would say that at least 70% of the people viewing this site are on a windows OS

Yea! I'm in the 30% minority!!

It's a simple fact folks, we owe a lot to Microsoft... ...about $20 billion according to their piracy figures. Alright everybody, PAY UP. I know you just lost your job and the kids need new shoes, but that $499 copy of Office you 'borrowed' from Frank next door is going to haunt your conscious untill you settle. Nevermind that you HAVE to send out .DOC format resume's to find a job anymore. You owe it to them buster.

So what

[Frequanaut]

The downfall of Microsoft isn't going to be caused by litigation.

It will be caused by offering an equal or superior product at a better or equal price.

Linux will be that product. It's not there yet, but it's inevitable that it will be at some point in the future.

Just as open source software will eliminate commercial software development as we know it today.

Re:UK switching to Linux

[ichimunki]

Ever notice how many MS apologists have such high UIDs on Slashdot? Sometimes I wonder if these people are actual employees at Microsoft or just temps. Or maybe you're just way too invested in Microsoft products and you find Linux scary and you hope no one actually adopts Linux in larger settings because that would reduce your pointy-clicky Windows skills to complete uselessness.

The poster wasn't trying to tell you what to run on your machine (even if you somehow represent the UK government). He or she was hoping the UK government would decide to use Linux as a general purpose OS. As for you specifically, any "telling" would seem to have been more a case of making you aware of your options in hopes of making your life better, rather than some sort of force being applied. In the case of the UK government, apparently the poster believes that Linux fills their needs (probably for a general use OS) better than MS Windows does.

Apparently he or she also believes that the more people that use Linux, the more likely people will spend money improving various aspects of the OS or the applications that run on the OS. This seems like a reasonable assumption, since it seems helpful to a software project to have a large base of possible contributors of both money and code. Therefore, the more people who use Linux, the better Linux' chances of overall improvement.

Bad Moon On the Rise?

[Zech Harvey]

I am having trouble gathering my thoughts on this, so bare with me...

First off, let me state I have not come to praise Bill, and that I concur with those who are pushing for this in their decision to press this forward. But I must say this action worries me as an American. With our current economic climate, the stance of those in charge, and how America currently looks on the global scale to our friends and neighbors, this could be the final straw in a tension build-up of global scale between America and the World.

What do I mean? Well, if this action accomplishes what should have happened when it was handled internally (severe punishment, break-up even), what will Microsoft do? Comply? Or use their new-found leverage with congress and their friendly Pro-Business government to complain? I think we both know the answer. So let's say they complain to the American government. After all, Microsoft is the crowning achievement in Free Market Capitalism, it makes money hand-over-fist, at any cost, and is a shining example of American industry (HA! I'm so funny). The government for those reasons will back them up. So then the American government widens the rift between our allies (former allies?) in the EU as much, if not more so, than our current actions regarding Iraq are concerned. The EU want Microsoft to play ball by the rules, which is to say they are in the right on this matter. America will say it's their field and they can make the rules up and if the EU doesn't like it, tough beans.

What will this do for our international relations? What will happen to the American business sector? How much will it harm our country and economy when the world (rightly) turns their back on us for our double-standards in the matters of state and business? I worry that it would be something nigh-repairable. Hopefully someone here will listen to what the world is saying and decide to make things a bit better. Maybe I just worry too much...

Antitrust or Antichrist?

[lambadomy]

CCIA
666 11th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001

Strange that the people going after microsoft have a 666 address. You'd think it would be the other way around.