$2.5 million a day for Microsoft?
p2p news / p2pnet: US companies of the ilk of Microsoft and Apple, and organizations such as Hollywood’s MPAA, have taken on, for themselves, mantles of statehood, often berating entire countries which fail to do what’s required of them in the interests of the bottom line.
Apple might take its iTunes business elsewhere because France didn’t precisely toe a line drawn by Steve Jobs. Hollywood’s MPAA routinely hectors China and Russia and other countries over alleged copyright infringement.
Now, one wonders what Microsoft’s ultimate response will be if and when not one, but a number of countries, rack it over anti-trust claims.
Regulators from the European Union’s 25 member countries have, according to reports, “unanimously found Microsoft guilty of non-compliance with the commission’s landmark 2004 anti-trust ruling,” says The Register.
But, that’s “unofficial” and “off the record,” it states, going on:
“The way is now clear for Microsoft to start paying a $2.51m a day fine backdated to December 15 for failing to meet the terms of the commission’s ruling.
“An EC spokesman was unwilling to comment.”
In a statement quoted by Microsoft Watch, “One of the EU governments has leaked news that a decision on whether or not Microsoft has complied will come in July this year – and is indeed likely to include a fine,” states company legal rep Horacio Gutierrez in an email to Microsoft employees in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
In a gruelling tale of “personal” employee sacrifice under which engineers have been, “working throughout nights and weekends,” it declares:
This non-compliance fine could total 100’s of millions of Euro for the period Microsoft is judged not to have complied and it will come in addition to the original fine back in March 2004.
Nevertheless, we have continued to stress that we are working intensively with the Commission and the relevant bodies and mechanisms to create documentation to an agreed specification. This is a long and complicated process but it is nevertheless working well and producing results. We have therefore emphasized that we believe fines to be “unjustified and unnecessary”. There is also a process by which – if we are fined for non-compliance – we can appeal this fine. However, this story will persist and is likely to raise its head again over the next few weeks as more details emerge in advance of the decision.
I can assure you that we are continuing to work day and night with over 300 dedicated engineers to create documentation which is complete and accurate to satisfy the European Commission. We have moved every available employee with knowledge of this technology to work on this project, and a great many of them have sacrificed greatly in terms of their personal lives over the last several months. Thanks to their admirable efforts, the process of that work is progressing well. We have delivered 5 of the seven agreed milestones and will deliver the last two on time. The next batch of documentation goes to the EC tomorrow, June 30, and the final batch will be delivered on July 18. This has been a huge challenge for our engineers but they have risen to it, working throughout nights and weekends to meet these very aggressive deadlines and create the highest quality documentation possible.
In an, “eerie parallel, “meanwhile, Microsoft has bowed to Korean antitrust officials by agreeing to pay a somewhat smaller $35m fine for abusing its market position locally,” says The Register.
“The ruling, in February, instructed Microsft [sic] to ship a version of Windows minus Media Player and Windows Messenger and a version that carries links to Web pages that allow customers to download competitors’ software.”
Also See:
The Register – Microsoft fines OK’d – reports, July 4, 2003
Microsoft Watch – Microsoft Warns Employees of Likely Antitrust Fine , June 30, 2006
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July 5th, 2006 at 11:28 pm
I’m surprised Microsoft hasn’t bought Europe and moved it to the campus in Redmond.
July 6th, 2006 at 5:21 am
No, they will probably pay the fine out of petty cash. Fines that would normally destroy most small to medium sized businesses are simply a cost of doing business for the corporate giants. Most simply pass the cost on to customers.