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UK Agency Files OOXML Complaint, EU Demurs

Posted by kdawson on from the we-know-we-know-already dept.

Christopher Blanc writes to let us know that although BECTA, the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency, has filed a complaint with EU regulators about Microsoft's business practices, the European Commission won't be doing anything particular about it. BECTA claimed that the OOXML format discourages competition. BECTA lodged a similar complaint with the UK Office of Fair Trading last October. A Commission press officer said, "We are already looking into the issues raised in that complaint already and we are not treating it as a formal complaint to us."

3 of 132 comments (clear)

  1. Re:some standards are more equal than others by genican1 · · Score: 5, Informative

    One doc standard, ODF, is cool; another, OOXML is somehow evil. A truly bizzare thought process. One of them is actually open.
  2. Re:So let me get this right by Danse · · Score: 5, Informative

    The complaint is that the format is a standard in name only (i.e., it is vague and difficult to implement). Actually, it's more than difficult, it's currently impossible for anyone but Microsoft to implement it, and even they can't seem to do it.
    --
    It's not enough to bash in heads, you've got to bash in minds. - Captain Hammer
  3. Re:Pay off. by flnca · · Score: 5, Informative
    Just read the last sentence of the article:

    "We are already looking into the issues raised in that complaint already..." Microsoft is currently facing another EUR 899 million fine for not following EU antitrust regulations ( BBC article ). Recently, I read an article that mentioned explicitly that OOXML is already being investigated as yet another cause of concern. They're looking into it!