Microsoft has sought to stake out its position on last
month's European Commission decision that it broke European
antitrust laws with the release of a paper accusing the regulator
of creating "new law" that could have far-reaching negative
consequences.
"The commission is seeking to make new law that will have an
adverse impact on intellectual property rights and the ability of
dominant firms to innovate," Microsoft's paper stated. "This
adverse impact will not be confined to the software industry or to
Europe."
The seven-page paper was posted on its website less than a day
before the commission is expected to release its full 300-page text
of the ruling against Microsoft.
The commission fined Microsoft £331m and ordered the software
company to disclose, within 120 days of the ruling, details of
interfaces used by its products to communicate with Windows and,
within 90 days of the ruling, a version of its Windows operating
system without the Windows Media Player software.
Microsoft has seen the detailed ruling, which is expected to
outline how the regulators reached the antitrust decision and delve
into the particulars of the ruling.
In its response to the detailed ruling, Microsoft warned that
the legal standards it sets will affect all industries and possibly
hinder global economic growth.
"We live in a world in which most products result from combining
a variety of individual components. Indeed, product innovation
results in no small measure from such integration," Microsoft
said.
"The decision opens the door to intrusive regulation of product
design - not to mention a record fine - based on a complaint by a
single component supplier, even when this integration is the market
norm and other suppliers continue to grow. Such a result, if
allowed to stand, would almost certainly spell bad news for the
European and global economies."
The Microsoft paper, "The European Commission’s Decision in the
Microsoft Case and its Implications for Other Companies and
Industries," can be found online
here.
Laura Rohde writes for IDG News
Service