More fines for Microsoft

AustralianIT notes that the Commission said Microsoft has set unreasonably high prices that discourage would-be competitors from making server software, while Microsoft continues to grab market share. Microsoft has four weeks to reply to the charges and is entitled to a hearing. It said the Commission was trying \'to regulate the pricing of our intellectual property on a global basis and not just within the EU\'. Microsoft fired back a response to the European Commission last week after Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes warned the Redmond giant of further penalties for overcharging other companies for Windows interoperability information. According to a Red Herring report, Microsoft was fined a record €497m in 2004 for antitrust activities and a further €280.5m in penalties last year for failing to comply. The EU’s Court of First Instance in Luxembourg is currently considering an appeal by Microsoft, but now the EU is threatening to levy further fines of an unspecified amount for the alleged overcharging. Full AustralianIT report Full Red Herring report