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Microsoft Hit With 280m Euro Fine
Craig Mason writes "The BBC Reports that "Microsoft has been fined 280.5m euros ($357m; £194m) by the European Commission for failing to comply with an anti-competition ruling.
The software giant was hit by the fine following a long-running dispute between the US firm and EU regulators.
The move follows a landmark EU ruling in 2004, which ordered Microsoft to provide rivals with information about its Windows operating system.
EU regulators also warned Microsoft it could face new fines of 3m euros a day.""
It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile
Be yourself no matter what they say
I think the important point here is that the EU fined Microsoft and did not cave to pressure from the United States and interested third parties. There's no appealing this one. God bless the EU!
Now the question is will Microsoft comply?
In Microsoft's case this would be about $5.5m-a-day.'
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/c55bc756-1047-11db-8f6f-00 00779e2340.html
I would imagine that there would be stiffer penalties (i.e., non-financial aimed at curtailing MSFT's ability to trade in the EU) available if MSFT continued to defy the commission. If there were not this would be a de facto admission that companies can break the law in the EU with impunity if they are rich enough. I very much doubt the commission would tolerate that state of affairs.
They can't really declare it freeware.
Of course they can. Assign a value of $X to the copyright of a single product, then the EU just assumes the copyright for it in lieu of the debt, and releases it at no charge. Seizure of assets happens all the time with real property - why is it so hard to think that it could happen with virtual property?
What happens when Microsoft did comply, how can you just take that back.
If MS paid the fine, do you think that the EU will be giving the money back if/when they comply?
It's a punishment, they're not supposed to get it back.
Simple. The EC declares Microsoft in contempt, leevies a larger fine. Files a complaint with the WTO, files a complaint with the U.S. FTC and SEC. The fine continues to accrue interest.
Microsoft still doesn't pay. The WTO complaint fails. FTC/SEC blow off the EC.
Fine grows larger. EC confiscates Microsoft Europe's assets. Most likely, some nations (like perhaps China/Russia) confiscate some Microsoft assets as well, paying a portion to the EC.
Microsoft still doesn't pay.
EC prohibits Microsoft from doing business in Europe. EC strips Microsoft's European copyright, permitting free distribution of MS products. As you may or may not know, ISPs in Europe are closed related to the government. What would happen next would be nothing other than a full-off declaration of War on Microsoft by the EU, with ISPs blackholing WindowsUpdate in favor of a EuropeanUpdate site (with WGA removed), massive investment of capital by the EU into developing alternative systems, and million upons millions of Linux and/or OS X systems brought online within a year, all bearing the EU's seal of approval.
Don't believe me? Europe's already done something similar with GSM. While that wasn't quite as antagonistic, Europe isn't afraid to build its own analog, at considerable expense (see the Galileo global satellite system). The EU will protect it self, economically, and in terms of security. They'll "steal" Windows if need be, and Europe will happily develop its own OS, most likely, in my estimation, a heavily sponsored version of Linux (SuSE or Mandriva).
WhiteWolf666 an exBush supporter. All you new-school,compassionate,save the children Republicans can rot in hell