p2pnet.net News:- At the beginning of this month Microsoft announced it had reached a $19.75 million anti-trust settlement with the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA).

As part of the deal, CCIA pulled a complaint it had pending before the European Commission regarding Windows XP – a, “principal obstacle to our ability to negotiate a settlement with the European Commission this past March,” as Microsoft put it.

This was good for Microsoft. But it was even better for Ed Black, CCIA president and one of Microsoft’s most outspoken critics.

He netted a cool $9.75m, or almost half the price of the settlement, says Britain’s Financial Times.

And the payment was approved by the CCIA board, which includes Sun Microsystems, Yahoo and Oracle, say the FT, going on:

“In an annexe to the agreement, the CCIA board agreed the “one-time bonus” to Mr Black, as well as a three-year contract with a salary of $500,000 a year.

“The CCIA has been particularly active in the Commission investigation that in March this year resulted in a record €497m fine for Microsoft.

“The judge hearing Microsoft’s legal challenge against that ruling has called a meeting of the parties involved tomorrow.”

Might this be why Nokia quit the CCIA right after the settlement was announced, saying matters were not handled “in the proper way”? – asks Groklaw.

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See:-
half the price – Microsoft critic received $9.75m after antitrust settlement, Financial Times, November 23, 2004
Nokia – Eek, Pulling Back the MS Curtain, We See … $9.5M to CCIA’s Ed Black, Groklaw, November 23, 2004

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