The European Commission hasfined US software firm Microsoft£680m
for failing to comply with a 2004 order to stop its monopolistic
practices.
The ruling, which applies to how Microsoft sold server software
and products such as media players, comes on the day
Microsoft launches a new server
package,
Windows Server 2008, and a week after it agreed to
open up its application programme interfaces to third-party
software developers.
The commission fined the Redmond company £680.9m after it failed
to comply with a
2004 ruling that said that Microsoft was guilty of not
providing vital information to rival software makers.
It also required Microsoft to disclose interface documentation
that would allow non-Microsoft work group servers to achieve full
interoperability with Windows PCs and servers at a reasonable
price.
EU regulators said Microsoft was the first firm to break an EU
antitrust ruling. The European Court of First Instance
upheld this ruling last year, which ordered Microsoft to pay
£376m for abusing its dominant market position.
"Microsoft was the first company in 50 years of EU competition
policy that the commission has had to fine for failure to comply
with an antitrust decision," competition commissioner Neelie Kroes
said in a statement.
Microsoft said it is reviewing the commission's action. "The
commission announced in October 2007 that Microsoft was in full
compliance with the 2004 decision, so these fines are about past
issues that have been resolved.
"As we demonstrated last week with our new interoperability
principles and specific actions to increase the openness of our
products, we are trying to focus on steps that will improve things
for the future."