Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Subpoenas Thrown out of Court
liliafan writes "Following Microsoft's attempt to subpoena documents through US courts, relating to their ongoing anti-trust case in the UK, the judge in California has thrown the case out of court citing: 'As a matter of comity, this court is unwilling to order discovery when doing so will interfere with the European Commission's orderly handling of its own enforcement proceedings.' as his reasoning."
That seems like a rediculous amount, no matter how evil MSFT may be. Isn't that more than 2x MSFT world-wide REVENUE, much less, EU PROFIT?
What if they don't pay?
What if they said "screw you, I'm going home" and stopped officially selling product in the EU?
Of course, there would still be "grey-market" sales, and "3rd party" support, etc.
As much as many do not like MSFT, this stinks of some sort of politicical extortion, plain and simple.
This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
I always heard he liked coming in the back door, now M$ tries to take the back door approach to their EU problem. Good thing the judge saw through M$'s BS.
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The judge didn't say they were irrelevant, she said they were confidential and the U.S. legal system was not going to be used as an end-run around the E.U. legal system. I find if frightenign that everyoen is willing to turn a blind eye to the E.U.'s corrupt legal system simpyl because it's Microsoft at the receiving end of the raw deal here. Would people be as casual if this were Apple?
but if this was any other company that slashdot didn't hold so much hate for, it seems likely to me that the judge would have been denounced as an idiot in collusion with the EU. Sure, maybe they aren't the best company, I'm not arguing that at all, but the EU is raping them.