EC takes aim at Microsoft – again!

And the Intel Corporation also finds itself accused of violating US federal or state anti-trust laws in the way that it priced and sold microprocessors. E-Brief News reports that the EC lashed out again at Microsoft after learning that it had tied Internet Explorer, its Web browser, to its Windows operating system and that it was making it difficult for competitors to work with Windows. ‘The first complaint was made last month by Opera Software, of Norway. The second was tabled by the European Committee for Interoperable Systems (ECIS), a non-profit organisation that represents companies supplying IT products. In a statement, the EU Commission said Opera\'s complaint \'alleges that there is ongoing competitive harm from Microsoft\'s practices ...that would reduce compatibility with open Internet standards and therefore hinder competition. Times Online reports that the complaints are separate from the earlier case, in which Microsoft was fined almost €800m for abusing its dominant position and was forced to unbundle its Media Player software from its Windows operating system and make interoperability information available to software developers. However, they draw on the judgment of Europe’s second-highest court, which rejected the American company’s appeal in September. The Commission said that launching the latest proceedings did not imply that it had proof of any anti-trust violations but that it would investigate as \'a matter of priority\'. FIN24 reports that in 2004, the EU fined Microsoft almost €500m after rivals complained that the US giant had tied its own media player into Windows, and had not allowed them fair access to codes which would have allowed their products to work effectively with the popular operating system. The Financial Times reports that the latest investigation extends the principles from that case, though it targets a range of software that is far more central to Microsoft’s business. \'Now they have the tools, they can go at it in the core,\' said Thomas Vinje, a Brussels lawyer who heads ECIS. The New York Times reports that Microsoft said it would \'co-operate fully with the commission’s investigation and provide any and all information necessary.\' \'We are committed to ensuring that Microsoft is in full compliance with European law and our obligations as established by the European Court of First Instance in its September 2007 ruling,\' it added. Tor Odland, a spokesperson for Opera, welcomed the new investigation. \'Microsoft has been able to get away with an inferior product for 12 years in Internet Explorer,’ Odland said. ‘Even with superior products such as Firefox and Opera, Microsoft retains a very big market share for PCs.\' Full Times Online report Full FIN 24 report Full Financial Times report Full report in The New York Times

In another major anti-trust case, the New York State Attorney-General, Andrew Cuomo, issued a wide-ranging subpoena to the Intel Corporation as part of an investigation into whether the company violated federal or state laws in the way that it priced and sold microprocessors. The New York Times notes that the investigation follows a preliminary look at Intel over several months by Cuomo’s office and is the latest legal challenge the company faces at home and abroad. Cuomo’s investigation is the first government challenge to Intel’s sales practices in the US, and comes less than three months after the head of the Federal Trade Commission rejected requests from lawmakers and some commission members to open a formal investigation. The inquiry will focus on a family of chips known as the x86 that is the industry standard for most desktop computers, laptops and servers. Intel has about 90% of the x86 market, estimated at $30bn a year in sales worldwide. Intel has said it will defend itself against charges of anti-competitive behaviour. The world\'s biggest microchip manufacturer has asked the EC for a hearing date so it can respond to accusations of anti-competitive practices. After a six-year investigation the Commission last year published a set of charges against the company in the form of a \'statement of objections\'. Out-Law.com reports that it said that the company abused its dominant market position to the disadvantage of competitor Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). It accused Intel of offering price cuts to computer makers on the condition that they fulfil \'all or the great majority of their CPU (chip) requirements from Intel\', according to the statement of objections. Full report in The New York Times Full Out-Law.com report