A US computer industry lobby group has filed a complaint
about Microsoft 's Windows XP operating system to the European
Commission antitrust department.The move came as the European regulator nears
the end of an investigation into earlier operating system products
from the software group.
Crucial issues about innovation and
competition in the software industry are at stake, according to the
Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA).
"XP clearly violates European Union
competition law," said Ed Black, president and chief executive
officer of the trade association.
The complaint has two strands: first, that XP
allows Microsoft to preserve an existing monopoly situation, and
second that it allows the software giant to push this dominance
into new markets, said Thomas Vinje, legal adviser to the CCIA and
a partner at law firm Morrison & Foerster.
"Microsoft is using well-honed practices to
achieve its end, and it is using them with XP more than ever
before," Vinje said.
The latest complaint accuses Microsoft of
bundling its Outlook Express e-mail software, Movie Maker video
editing software, Instant Messenger on-screen messaging program and
Media Player software into Windows XP.
It also accuses Microsoft of forcing its
operating systems might into Internet-related markets, and into
markets for mobile phone operating systems.
In addition, the CCIA alleged that Windows XP
gives an unfair advantage to Microsoft's e-commerce trading
platform, .net, by steering purchasers of XP towards signing up for
Passport, the .net authentication service.
.Net Passport is the most developed online
authentication system available at present.
Next year, a similar system will be launched
by the Liberty Alliance, a group of companies that have agreed to
use a common, open-source platform largely developed by Sun
Microsystems, to offer their services and goods online.
Microsoft said, "The allegations seem similar
to the ones the CCIA made in the US. It is up to the European
Commission to decide what issues are relevant to its probe. We have
always said we are eager to work with the commission to find a
positive solution to the issues."
The CCIA represents computer electronics and
phone groups including Eastman Kodak, Fujitsu, Nokia and NTT
Communications, and three of Microsoft's biggest direct
competitors, Sun Microsystems, AOL Time Warner and Oracle.