Microsoft won't bother with EU hearing
Summary: Microsoft wanted the European Commission to reschedule a hearing at which Redmond would be be able to defend itself against the EU's conclusion that tying IE to Windows is anticompetitive. The reason: Microsoft's top antitrust staff would be attending a big conference in Zurich.
Microsoft wanted the European Commission to reschedule a hearing at which Redmond would be be able to defend itself against the EU's conclusion that tying IE to Windows is anticompetitive. The reason: Microsoft's top antitrust staff would be attending a big conference in Zurich.
The EU declined. Microsoft's response: Just forget it.
The dates the Commission selected for our hearing, June 3-5, coincide with the most important worldwide intergovernmental competition law meeting, the International Competition Network (ICN) meeting, which will take place this year in Zurich, Switzerland. The ICN meeting will be especially well attended this year because it will be the first international meeting attended by representatives of the Obama administration.As a result, it appears that many of the most influential Commission and national competition officials with the greatest interest in our case will be in Zurich and so unable to attend our hearing in Brussels. We raised concerns about this scheduling conflict with the Commission the very same day we were notified of the proposed hearing date. We asked the Commission to consider alternative dates and expressed our serious concern that holding a hearing during the same days as the ICN would make it much more difficult for the Commission’s and Member States’ key decision makers to attend. We pointed out that there’s no legal or other reason that the hearing needs to be held the first week of June. We believe that holding the hearing at a time when key officials are out of the country would deny Microsoft our effective right to be heard and hence deny our “rights of defense” under European law.
AP reports that an EU spokeswoman said "the commission couldn't see any reason to postpone."
So Microsoft will have to let its written response speak as regulators consider adding fines to the €1.7 billion fine already levied against Microsoft.
Windows 7 is supposed to let users shut off IE if they want, something you can't do now.
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Talkback
Yeah, Microsoft to EU: Eat my shorts....Here's your dirty money, pigs.
No fan of MS, less of a fan of EU
the 1990s and skillfully navigated out of the sights of most of the State
AGs by the middle of Bush's first term, the EU has delivered more than
their just deserts and even with dry eyes, I'm very skeptical that the
punitive measures the EU is imposing are justifiable. One can almost
imagine a Liliputan wrath on the giant once MSFT was hauled into those
courts and the question that has to be raised is whether they would have
done the same to an Airbus or Siemens under the same circumstances.
Americans need to start looking at these actions as possibly anti-
American and aggressive trade tactics with an agenda. I applaud the
MSFT legal team for their demurrer in response.
If we look carefully, almost all anti-trust ...
Short Term Memory
hazy, selective memory of the past and the generation that was grateful for
American help at the end of two devastating wars are in rest homes or many are
living in America now. Don't count on the European courts, whether they are
dealing with Commerce or International justice to take any indebtedness to the
US (or Canada!) into account in rendering decisions and certainly don't count on
the politicians to pander to Americans when they've got their own constituents
to worry about and pander to as they go after American businesses in order to
protect their own. If I was MS, I'd plant some Kill Code in the next version of
Windows (7) and when the EU fines them, ignore it and turn off Windows for
ingrates dialing in from European IP addresses. For an extra dose of justice,
implement the kill code while trying to save a large spreadsheet in Excel or a
legal document in Word. In the end, (and I loath Windows), EU is biting the hand
that feeds and any technological innovations arriving on their shores from
America is more an asset than a liability and perhaps the only way to teach them
that is to deprive them for a season.
It's mainly because those companies
Also don't forget where the current recession originated. The same place the last did which partly led to the second world war.
Giving mortgages to crooks was also 'fine' business conduct, but just look to where that lead us.
Huh!
which you subscribe, but if you are to suggest that the EU is or should go
after American companies because of an obscure connection to "giving
mortgages to crooks", you sir are worse than Hitler. MSFT needs to answer
for charges against MSFT not charges against "those companies" that give
"mortgages to crooks"...
It's one thing to detect a pattern of aggressive prosecution of companies
originating from a certain region, but you seem to be advocating that the EU
should go after American companies because of things they do "within the
American culture" based on the absurd allegation that the "recession
originated" in America.
So, if your argument holds, we should round up every last German in or out
of Germany because of the 10% of the population that belonged to the Nazi
party. Or we should have rounded up all the French because of Napoleon?
How about we prosecute people for their specific crimes and hold companies
accountable for their individual practices. If we detect patterns of prejudice
or if we find that one group gets a free pass while another group has their
feet put to the fire, that we correct our
prosecutorial/regulatory/enforcement practices to be more impartial.
I would suggest that your grammar-free post was quick and posted without
much thought given to the subject at hand.
Not just US companies
commission is only after US companies. Obviously US companies are
important so they won't be looked over but..
If you read up about it, you'll find that the EU commission - for example
- have forced European telephone companies to lower their prices in
several areas. And will do the same for international data (smartphone)
prices.
Let's EU go after EU companies...
I guess you guys, being a superior creed to us ?Wild-West Country Hicks? and obsessed with a royal self-grandeur with superior intellect I just wish to ask you one question: Why don?t you create your own ?Microsoft? and ?INTEL? or ?AMD??or..and use it as a PINATA?!?!
I guess it?s O.K. to steal from the Liberators who saved your ass countless times and allow you to keep speaking your German, French, (British) English, instead to bowing to Lenin?s statue or Suleiman The Great every morning on your way to local Mosque or a ?Red Rally?! Well?you?re welcome!
p.s. I am just a Serb immigrant leaving in America and I know you guys!
@orasac: EC would go after EU companies,
However since trade goes beyond the borders, you have stuff like "made in china" or something like that somewhere on your products.
EU citizens were just as much forced to have limited or no choice in their software as the Americans. (and yes, there is Apple and that's not a viable option as a gamer nor is a console)
Our government does the same thing...
Should Intel be kept in check? Absolutely. Is fining Intel for the EU's personal gain the answer? Absolutly not.
In the US when a suit is brought against a company, the companies complaining generally get the money. In the EU, most the money goes to... the EU.
That could be seen as extortion by US standards. I guess that is legal there though.
The depression didn't originate in the US.
Stop blaming everyone else for the failures of socialism.
I have said it many times....
Disabling IE is one thing... but forcing a company to include competitor software on their OS is nothing more then abuse of power.
I feel our companies should boycott europeans sales and focus more on boosting US sales. This would help the US economy, and show the EU how much they need our business. And if it turns out they don't need our business, the all the better.
I have nothing against the people of Europe, but the EU is nothing more then a soviet styled union. Ask the old soviet states how that turned out.
RE: Microsoft won't bother with EU hearing
You're say that because you believe:
access to the OEM market?
--or--
2) MS should be allowed to threaten competitors and destroy their
businesses?
Genuinely interested.
What was EU's damage?!?!?!
"should have " is the operative statement
Hah One Big Monopoly is accusing another.
--Ram--
Confused
should have and were dealt in the US judicial system"
EC consumers suffered as a result of this behaviour. Similar claims for
damages made by EC companies e.g. Opera.
"there is no DOUBLE-JEPARDY allowed"
None applicable. Different Juristrictions, different laws, different
cases.The prohibition against double jeopardy applies only to criminal
trials, MS vs DoJ was civil.
"what irks me to no end is that ex-colonial powers felt compelled to ?
bring some justice? to their ex-colony and profit from it even though
they were no damaged at all."
Big chip you're carrying. The EC is investigating whether damage
occurred. I believe it clearly did.
I'm sorry
This belief that competitors need access to each others proprietary secrets is extortion.
competition is