EU Court Upholds Microsoft Antitrust Fines

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EU Court Upholds Microsoft Antitrust Fines

Posted by ryuzaki0 on Wednesday June 27, 2012 @12:50AM from the chump-change dept.

a_n_d_e_r_s writes "The ongoing saga of Microsoft's misuse of their dominant position in the EU marketplace to block competitors may be finally over, with the fine set to 860 million euros (just over 1 billion dollars). In 2004 Microsoft was ordered to provide certain information to competitors but failed to do so and was given an hefty fine. Now the EU General Court in Luxembourg has upheld the EU Commission decision and ruled against Microsoft." This is a minor reduction (4.3%) of the original fine because of a minor technicality. Microsoft, naturally, is unhappy with the result.

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EU bailout by pointyhat · 2012-06-27 00:50 · Score: 2, Funny

So Microsoft are running the EU bailout now?
1. Re:EU bailout by h4rr4r · 2012-06-27 01:16 · Score: 2
  
  By that you mean how big a loan they want to take out?
  Why should the Germans be paying your bills?
2. Re:EU bailout by egamma · 2012-06-27 01:35 · Score: 2
  
  Hey, that made me think of something...maybe Microsoft should pay in their worthless ass currency, the Euro. It's funny until you realize, I think the fine is in Euros rofl. Perhaps this is a conspiracy to drive up the cost of the Euro. MS holds primarily USD so if they had to convert a bunch to Euros, it would drive the price up. Yeah, the lawsuit started before the Euro was in trouble but still, I'm sure the recent problems didn't help the case be operated any less crookedly.
  What make you think that Microsoft doesn't have 860 million Euros already? They take payments in Europe. If I were them I would have been revenue from European operations into a bank account for years. All they have to due is write the check.
  
  --
  Battlemaster--Game with friends in medival realms
3. Re:EU bailout by Anonymous Coward · 2012-06-27 01:36 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Yeah, how horrible of a European court to exact a fine in European currency. This is almost on par with Iran allowing trading oil in other currencies than US dollars!
4. Re:EU bailout by Barefoot+Monkey · 2012-06-27 01:39 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  How does that work when the Euro is currently worth 25% more than the US Dollar?
5. Re:EU bailout by Immerman · 2012-06-27 01:56 · Score: 2
  
  It used to be worth 60% more than the US Dollar was, and that was before the value of the Dollar tanked.
  
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  --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
6. Re:EU bailout by dunkelfalke · 2012-06-27 01:58 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Not really. Germany had not much say back then about the EU. France pressed Germany to let everybody and their dog in as a condition for the reunification.
  
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  "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
7. Re:EU bailout by Anonymous Coward · 2012-06-27 02:01 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Rubbish.
  Microsoft has been a predatory ruthless monopolist in all jurisdictions they trade in.
  If it wasn't for lobbying/bribes, they'd have been prosecuted in just about every country in the world.
8. Re:EU bailout by Anonymous Coward · 2012-06-27 02:09 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  Try looking at ongoing cartel and anti-trust cases inthe Commission's official case database.
  Of course, DSD, Europay, Scandlines Sverige, Ã-sterreichische Banken and similar companies are all as genuinely American as one can be.
9. Re:EU bailout by TheRaven64 · 2012-06-27 02:10 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  The thing is that the EU courts do nothing domestically, but boy, when they see a US company, it is no holds barred
  
  Bullshit. The largest antitrust fine to date: €992M, on a cartel of lift makers within the EU. The difference is that the myopic US press doesn't bother covering anything other than fines on US companies, so you don't hear about them.
  
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  I am TheRaven on Soylent News
10. Re:EU bailout by buddyglass · 2012-06-27 02:13 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  60% is the all-time high for EUR/USD. Chart here. The euro is currently worth about as much relative to the dollar as it was in 2004, which is more than at any time prior to 2004.
11. Re:EU bailout by wjsteele · 2012-06-27 02:29 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  The largest antitrust fine to date [nabarro.com]: €992M, on a cartel of lift makers within the EU.
  Bullshit. The largest antitrust fine to date: €1.06B, was on Intel, for abusing its dominance in the computer chip market.
  
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  It's my Sig and you can't have it. Mine! All Mine!
12. Re:EU bailout by buglista · 2012-06-27 02:31 · Score: 2
  
  ARGH! We get this blatant lie every FUCKING time this subject comes up. Would it kill you to google? Because you're very, very wrong.
13. Re:EU bailout by Luckyo · 2012-06-27 09:33 · Score: 2
  
  So Neelie Kroes' local reputation of being utterly brutal on local monopolies and totally unjustified?
  What exactly are you smoking? She's been known as someone brutal enough to take on any monopoly that tries to play against competitiveness, and done so long before microsoft. They're not even on her "first ten" list of big companies to get hit hard.
"Microsoft, naturally, is unhappy with the result" by hcs_$reboot · 2012-06-27 00:55 · Score: 4, Insightful

Not sure about that. Since 2004 they sold at least a billion pricey products ; that makes a pretty juicy ROI.

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Re:"Microsoft, naturally, is unhappy with the resu by Joce640k · 2012-06-27 00:57 · Score: 2, Interesting

Mod parent up. It's a couple of month's profit for Microsoft. Spread it over eight years and it's not a bad investment.

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No sig today...
Re:Microsoft is proving EU with a bailout by Sique · 2012-06-27 01:03 · Score: 4, Informative

The verdict was handed down in 2004. It's the appeal where Microsoft managed to reduce the fine by about 30 Mio €.

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.sig: Sique *sigh*
Re:Microsoft is proving EU with a bailout by rssc · 2012-06-27 01:21 · Score: 3, Insightful

Wow, that is a chunk of change - the EU could really use the money right now too (conspiracy ???). This could pay for the bailouts being debated right now throughout the EU.
The fine is 860 million euros. The Spanish banks are getting up to 100 billion euros. The Irish got some 60 billion euros, Greece has gotten several hundred billions so far. These 860 million euros are chump change in comparison.
Re:secure boot uefi by SuricouRaven · 2012-06-27 01:30 · Score: 3, Interesting

And when the legal proceeding complete in about 2026, once Microsoft have successfully used Secure Boot to destroy all potential competition in the desktop space and profited by many tens of billions of euros, they can get another billion-euro fine for it.
Re:"Microsoft, naturally, is unhappy with the resu by cgenman · 2012-06-27 01:40 · Score: 4, Insightful

Microsoft has to report that they're unhappy with the result. They have to whine and complain. If they didn't, it wouldn't be seen as sufficient punishment.

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The ______ Agenda
Re:"Microsoft, naturally, is unhappy with the resu by gstrickler · 2012-06-27 01:42 · Score: 4, Insightful

Microsoft's competitors and consumers aren't too happy with the result either. I'm sure they would have preferred that MS not have engaged in such practices in the first place.

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Good to see by StillNeedMoreCoffee · 2012-06-27 02:08 · Score: 3, Interesting

Europe acting on anti-trust type of actions on big companies. I remember a time when the U.S. did that and we had decades of prosperity. Ah the good old prosperous days of the 50's and 60's with 90% top tax rate.
1. Re:Good to see by RazorSharp · 2012-06-27 03:26 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Anytime a U.S. president gets shot he becomes sainted and we refuse to acknowledge the horrible things he's done. Getting shot is like automatic sainthood for a U.S. President (thank God Reagan survived his assassination attempt - imagine that moron as a martyr).
  Kennedy got us involved in Vietnam. Lincoln was personally responsible for more American deaths than any person/country/army. No one (aside from history buffs) knows much about McKinley or Garfield but they have a surprising amount of buildings and whatnot named after them for do-nothing presidents.
  
  --
  "From the depths of my skeptical and rationalist soul, I ask the Lord to protect me from California touchie-feeliedom."
Rubbish by Chuck+Chunder · 2012-06-27 02:35 · Score: 2

There are plenty of EU antitrust rulings against EU (and other non-US) companies, your ignorance of them probably shows your bias, not theirs.
Astra Zeneca (a UK company) are up for 50 million euros.
Telefonica (Spanish) are up for 150 million euros.
Examples are not hard to find....

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Where does this money go? by Last_Available_Usern · 2012-06-27 02:35 · Score: 2

This is not a trivial sum. Who gets it?
Re:Go after Apple! by whisper_jeff · 2012-06-27 02:35 · Score: 3, Insightful

Apple are the worst offenders and is the most anti-competitive company in the industry, they're worse than Microsoft.
Totally!!
Well, except for the fact that they have nothing approaching a monopoly in any industry in which they operate and consumers have the easy choice to go with alternatives should they dislike Apple's offerings whereas Microsoft had ~95% of the desktop market at the time the anti-trust cases occurred (and still have ~90% of the market).
Other than that, you're right - totally worse than Microsoft. ...
Re:secure boot uefi by KingMotley · 2012-06-27 02:43 · Score: 4, Interesting

UEFI isn't a Microsoft technology, but feel free to try and prove that an open consortium has a monopoly and abused it somehow.
Re:Microsoft is proving EU with a bailout by Mabhatter · 2012-06-27 03:19 · Score: 2

If this was a speeding ticket it would have at least 100% in fees and interest added. Microsoft made money on the appeal, more in just interest than the lawyers got paid.
That said the EU could do some REAL HARM if they string armed the money in the next 30 days. That would upset the decision makers enough to bungle all the Win8 launches.
They got away with it in the US. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-06-27 03:31 · Score: 4, Informative

They were charged guilty by the highest court in the US... and nothing.
Microsoft just complained that it was hard to comply and dragged their feet. The US did nothing. No fine, no nothing, until it reached stature of limitation. Then Microsoft, a convicted criminal, got off the hook without even a slap on the wrist.
In that aspect, The EU was much smarter. They gave Microsoft time to fix their stuff, and when that time expired, without Microsoft doing anything, they started fining 1 000 000 euro for every additional day of non-compliance. That is where the 980 000 000 euro fine is coming from.
Microsoft is not the only case like this.