antitrust

The EU, Microsoft and digital media formats

Correction: this story has been corrected to remove the implication that iTunes sells audio files in formats other than AAC. iTunes did begin selling DRM-free songs earlier this year, but those files are still in the AAC format. Other stores are selling DRM-less MP3s, but not iTunes.

In 1998, the European Commission began investigating Microsoft on grounds that it was illegally using its desktop operating system (OS) monopoly to squeeze into new markets. At some point along the way, RealNetworks complained that Microsoft was repeating its kill-Netscape tactic by bundling the Windows Media player into Windows. In 2004, the EC agreed, … Read more

EU vs. Microsoft: The morning after

Yesterday, it seemed like a great thing that Microsoft got swatted by the European Union on antitrust grounds. Today, questions are emerging. The Wall Street Journal has two good articles that deal with the fallout from the ruling. Unfortunately, Microsoft may not be the only one that loses in the judgment.

The first article by Charles Forelle calls out the nebulous standard that may be set by the ruling. Namely, if you win (in the market), you may lose (in court):… Read more

'Non!' says EU to Microsoft in antitrust appeal

It's really hard to be a monopolist these days. That's what Microsoft found when Monday the European Union slapped down its appeal to an antitrust decision made several years ago. Apparently there are a few places on earth where money can't buy Microsoft happiness. I'm glad that one of them happens to be an enormous market like Europe. According to a story on Vnunet.com:

Microsoft is now facing a record 497 million Euros fine as well as having to pay 80 percent of the legal costs of the case.

The software giant will also have to assist its rivals with third-party integration through documentation and support, and strip its media player software from a version of Windows.… Read more

European Union court rejects Microsoft's appeal in historic case

The European Union's Court of First Instance handed Microsoft a major defeat on Monday, slapping down the software maker's appeal in three significant areas of the historic antitrust case brought by the European Commission.

In the closely watched case, which has dragged on since March 2004, the Luxembourg-based court upheld the Commission's findings that Microsoft abused its dominant position in the market.

The highlights:

Interoperability. The court agreed with the Commission that Microsoft was stifling competition by withholding certain technical specifications, or protocols, from rivals. The court also agreed that the Commission wanted Microsoft to share only the system protocols, and not its source code. After all, not everyone wants to be "like" Microsoft.

"The court rejects Microsoft's claims that the degree of interoperability required by the Commission is intended in reality to enable competing work group server operating systems to function in every respect like a Windows system and, accordingly, to enable Microsoft's competitors to clone or reproduce its products," the Court of First Instance stated in its decision.

… Read more

Korea alleges Intel violated antitrust laws

The planes are stacking up on the tarmac.

Investigators for the Korea Fair Trade Commission notified Intel last week they believe the chip giant violated the country's antitrust regulations, Intel confirmed Wednesday.

And with the 18-month probe completed, which included an early morning raid on Intel offices early last year, the allegations raised by the South Korea FTC investigators will be reviewed by the full FTC Commission.

The commission will issue a ruling on whether the chip giant violated the Korean Fair Trade and Monopoly Regulation Act and whether sanctions are warranted. No specific date or schedule has been … Read more

States group wants to extend Microsoft antitrust oversight

Editor's note: This story was updated at 10:16 a.m. PDT.

WASHINGTON--A group of state prosecutors led by California on Tuesday told a federal judge that they plan to file a request that Microsoft antitrust oversight be extended until 2012.

Right now, most portions of the settlement reached with the Bush administration and state prosecutors in 2002 are set to expire November 12. Those provisions primarily deal with "middleware," or applications that sit on top of the operating system. One section relating to server protocol licensing has already been extended until 2009.

U.S. District Judge … Read more

Why does the DOJ oppose net neutrality?

According to Wikipedia, the Department of Justice is "designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans." So why is it that the Justice Department recently filed a press release stating its opposition to net neutrality? In the statement, the DOJ argues that "consumers and the economy are benefiting from the innovative and dynamic nature of the Internet," and that "regulators should be careful not to impose regulations that could limit consumer choice and investment in broadband facilities."

Of course, given that almost all locales are limited to at most two broadband carriers--the telephone and cable monopolies--there are already regulations that "limit consumer choice and investment in broadband facilities." The Justice Department seems to be tailoring its antitrust agenda in such a way as to serve the interests of certain big business interests and not the needs of the American people. If any company could enter the marketplace to offer high-speed Internet access then their position would at least be possible to defend. Were that the case, then people would be free to choose among a multitude of Internet offerings, some of which would likely offer neutrality while others would provide a preferential pipe. Only then would there be some teeth in the argument that the free market would ensure Americans get the best access at the best price. In reality, it is only the massive telecoms and cable companies that are able to provide high-speed Internet, and both camps have an economic incentive to abandon net neutrality.

… Read more

Judge: Google can file anti-Microsoft antitrust brief

The U.S. judge overseeing Microsoft's antitrust compliance has ruled Google may file a brief complaining Redmond hasn't done enough to provide an unbiased selection of desktop search products in Windows Vista.

Whether the action bodes well for Google or will influence Microsoft's fate in the antitrust oversight process, however, is up for debate.

Here's a little history: Google had submitted a proposed brief on the eve of a court hearing with Microsoft and antitrust prosecutors earlier this summer. But at the hearing that followed, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said she wasn't sure whether she would accept it … Read more

Microsoft antitrust deal earns mixed grades

Editor's note: This blog was updated at 12:40 p.m. PDT with additional information from the Department of Justice filing and a link to Microsoft's report.

With most of Microsoft's antitrust settlement with the government poised to expire this November, federal and state prosecutors overseeing the Windows giant's compliance were divided Thursday on the deal's past and future effectiveness.

One one hand, attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice and a posse of state plaintiffs known as the "New York group," which also includes Maryland, Wisconsin, Ohio and Louisiana, proclaimed the 2002 consent decree with the Bush administration … Read more