European regulators targeting .Net, OOXML, server products in new Microsoft probe
Summary: European antitrust regulators are kicking off two new Microsoft antitrust investigations, one of which involves of products and technologies for which Microsoft allegedly is withholding interoperability information, including its .Net framework, Office Open XML (OOXML) document format and various server products.
European antitrust regulators are kicking off two new Microsoft antitrust investigations, one of which involves products and technologies for which Microsoft allegedly is withholding interoperability information, including its .Net framework, Office Open XML (OOXML) document format and various server products.
According to the European Commission's statement on the new Microsoft probes, issued January 14:
"In the complaint by ECIS (European Committee for Interoperable Systems), Microsoft is alleged to have illegally refused to disclose interoperability information across a broad range of products, including information related to its Office suite, a number of its server products, and also in relation to the so called .NET Framework. The Commission's examination will therefore focus on all these areas, including the question whether Microsoft's new file format Office Open XML, as implemented in Office, is sufficiently interoperable with competitors' products."
The European Committee for Interoperable Systems (ECIS), -- not the European Council for International Schools (oops. my mistake) -- "is an international non-profit association founded in 1989 that endeavours to promote a favourable environment for interoperable ICT solutions," according to its charter. Members of ECIS include IBM, Nokia Sun Microsystems, RealNetworks and Oracle.
The European Commission also has begun officially its antitrust investigation of a complaint levied by Opera Software in mid-December over Microsoft's tying of Internet Explorer to Windows. Last year, ECIS backed Opera's antitrust complaint against the Redmondians.
In its latest statement, the Commission also mentioned complaints it has received about Microsoft allegedly tying Windows Live and desktop search to Windows. Google is known to have brought Microsoft's desktop-search integration to the attention of the EC.
It seemed as though Microsoft's agreement to change the behavior of Windows Vista's desktop search to make it more open to Microsoft's competitors -- a change Microsoft is instigating with Vista Service Pack (SP) 1 due later this quarter -- answered the search tying complaints. But maybe not....
Microsoft has been working with a number of third-party developers to build translators that make OOXML and the rival Open Document Format (ODF) interoperable. Again, it looks like those efforts might be too little, too late to appease the ECIS and other critics....
At the end of December, after years of foot-dragging, Microsoft finally complied with terms required under a previous EC antitrust investigation which required the Redmond software company to share in a fair and open way Windows networking protocol information to enable third-party developers to make their wares interoperable with Windows Server.
There's no official statement from Microsoft yet about the new probe.
Microsoft's official statement on the new antitrust probes, courtesy of a corporate spokesman:
"We will cooperate fully with the Commission's investigation and provide any and all information necessary. We are committed to ensuring that Microsoft is in full compliance with European law and our obligations as established by the European Court of First Instance in its September 2007 ruling."
So far, there also are no further details on exactly what kind of information regarding .Net, OOXML and the unspecified Microsoft server products the ECIS is seeking.
Stay tuned.
Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.
Talkback
Error in document
Not the one you're claiming it is...
Thanks for clearing that one up NT
Why does not the EU just save some time
"Microsoft, we want you to sign over ownership of your company to someone, anyone, it does not matter who, as long as the company is based in the EU"
It ain't the EU, stupid.
You should really check your...
Be careful
There's apparently more money and fame in nitpicking instead of handling all issues at once, and they don't want to run the company directly, just bleed it for cash, IP, and fame for as long as they can. It probably was the same for IBM and Ma Bell back in the day. Ridden like a pack mule until the decrees died away and court time didn't present a significant ease of win. Plus MS doesn't make it easy on itself. They seem to challenge the court, counsel or organization as if were a business competitor instead of a body of authority with powers to steam roll at leisure. IF MS were just compliant and on the sly buy up the countries prime resources it could gain controls outside of the channels they're being contested.
It ain't the European Commission inquiry, it a none-for-profit organsation.
European Commission
http://www.europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/08/19&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
I love precedent ...
[i]"As regards interoperability, in its Microsoft judgment of 17 September 2007, the Court of First Instance confirmed the principles that must be respected by dominant companies as regards interoperability disclosures."[/i]
The September 17 decision for MS is a big fat scarlet "A", or better yet a big fat scarlet "M", that's never going to come off. :)
It's beyond precedent.
The OOXML format will be reviewed by the OSI again next month. <br>
Google, who claimed as far back as 2004 that Windows belonged under a glass case, filed the complaint about "desktop search" immediately thrown out by U.S. federal courts who are sick of it and the lack of any wrongdoing in a truely free society. Just the thought of Google making the complaint is laughable. <br>
The members of this organization listed in this BLOG is laughable. <br>
What is truely laughable is that Microsoft didn't seem to raise any red flags in the EU until a certain point in time. The obviousness of this being a political and power play are that of a sore thumb. <br>
What is truely laughable is the total dismissal of the free will of the people of the EU. The countries holding the largest marketshare of Microsoft products are in the EU, by a large margin. One such country is over 95% marketshare. <br>
Now i'm not exta-ordinary man, but as to the size of Microsoft, i've not once felt to be without a choice due to Microsoft. I have felt the choices are limited due to the fact, for instance, the EU didn't have a single PC OEM for a decade. There were now viable OSes outside of OSX in teh U.S. to draw any interest from any corporations in any part of the world. My question to those who seem to have had a visit from the MS police forcing them use MS products is, how is that Microsoft's fault? <br>
This is the amazing part and it may have nothing to do with interoperability, which i've made a great deal of money from and never once had a problem using Microsoft products APIs to do anything of any depth or breadth, is that of all the accusations the anti trust trial and so forth there are only a few companies that anyone can link to Microsoft having anything to do with their lack of business. Now I've seen hundreds of companies go out of business right in my hometown due to Walmarts or Kmarts or convenience store chains and I don't hear anyone here ever mention the hundreds of companies around the world, larger than Microsoft in many cases, simply crushing the competition on a regular basis. Some in the EU and partially state run as a matter of fact. France Telecom was found to be guilty of predatory pricing not long ago. The remedy in that case was laughable, especially since it was during the MS fiasco. <br>
But the point that this is so blatantly a powerplay by the EU the whole way is just really quite sad. The EU has used the U.S so many times in history, has not paid back billions that the U.S. has spent to rebuid half of it, has accepted billions in cash infusions to help the struggling economy for decades and now the EU is thumbing it's nose by lining up American companies and creating law under monopoly status by non elected officials to try and tear them down, at least in the EU. <br>
The ABM crowd will say it's their law, yeah will their law has been made by a non elected monopoly with omnipotent power in the EU. <br>
It really matters none because companies in all countries will continue to use Microsoft products and whatever "compliance" they must endure of divulging their trade secrets will change little and even then only over a very long period of time. <br><br>
I have no stock in Microsoft or any other company in the EU's sights, but find it rather unethical considering the Massive amount of EU holdings of American companies and ownership of American property. It's a huge amount. Always has been. Now the EU wants to take it further and get it both ways. They are truely and openly trying to win what they see as a war financially. <br>
In the end, they will be licking their wounds and crying for help all over again, but in the meantime what great theater.
Mmmm, angry ...
Back to the topic, my comment was directed to the fact that MS in its arrogance during the entire remedy phase would not comply with the court order that was handed down in 2004. Because of this and the reaffirmation by the Court of First Instance MS branded themselves as a company that is willing to disregard the "principles that must be respected by dominant companies as regards interoperability disclosures."
As I've stated time and time again the laws and regulations of the EU apply here, [b]NOT[/b] those of the United States. ;)
Arrogance?
This is bullying, and if standing up to a bully is arrogance, then MS was arrogant.
Meanwhile the same commission is telling you what you can or cannot eat.
Problem with .NET?
According to EC report....
What exactly does that mean?
.Net is a runtime and a set of libraries. The run time, intermediately language, and a core set of libraries form an ISO standard. The C# language is an ISO standard. They are in the process of releasing the source code for it!
What does interopability with a language run time even mean?
What are Microsoft doing to limit access to .Net?
I would really like to read the body of the ECIS complaint, but its not on their website.
Opera published their complaint - the ECIS should too.
Indeed...
RE: European regulators targeting .Net, OOXML, server products in new Microsoft probe
Why is it always them? Why not Asia or Africa or Mexico or Canada?
Why does the EU keep on messing with MS?
I think it's got a bit beyond smacked botties now.
Can you be more specific?