The EC has set up an in-depth investigation into
Microsoft and Time Warner's plans to take over US digital rights
management company ContentGuard Holdings.
The Commission fears the takeover might create or strengthen a
dominant position for Microsoft.
It will also investigate competitive concerns arising from the
vertical integration of Microsoft in other markets, it said.
In April, Microsoft announced that it was increasing its
investment in ContentGuard and Time Warner said that it was adding
a new cash injection.
Together the companies purchased most of the stock previously
held by ContentGuard's original technology provider Xerox. The
value of their investments has not been disclosed.
They sought clearance for the deal from the EU in July, when the
EC opened a preliminary investigation. The in-depth second phase
investigation could take up to four months, the commission
said.
Microsoft and Time Warner are keen to invest in digital rights
management. Concerns have been raised, however, that they could
wield their combined power to dominate the market.
The EC probe will evaluate whether the ContentGuard deal will
put their rivals at a disadvantage or slow development of open
interoperability standards, which could tip the market toward the
current leading provider, Microsoft.
The digital rights management market is expected to generate
revenue of around $563m (£313m) by 2007, said IDC, predicting that
more than 70% of that revenue would be derived from the Windows
operating environment.
Scarlet Pruitt writes for IDG News Service