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Microsoft offers 'browser ballot' to resolve European antitrust allegations

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Microsoft announced on Friday that it will offer European consumers an option to select from a list of several Web browsers "in an effort to address competition law issues related to Internet Explorer and interoperability." The European Commission welcomed Microsoft's 'ballot screen' proposal, adding that it "will now investigate its practical effectiveness in terms of ensuring genuine consumer choice." Last month, the EC had expressed concern that merely offering Internet Explorer separately from Windows would not resolve all of the alleged antitrust violations. Microsoft has faced many legal challenges based on antitrust and unfair competition allegations. In June, a South Korean court ruled that the corporation violated antitrust laws by packaging software with the Windows operating system, but dismissed requests for damages from two Korean software firms on the grounds that the damages were not sufficiently linked to Microsoft's conduct. In February, Google sought to join the EC's suit against Microsoft, alleging that the bundling of software violated an EC Treaty provision that prohibits the abuse of a dominant market position. In 2004, an EC action required the company to unbundle its media player and to share technical information with competitors and lower its prices, but Microsoft failed to comply with the judgment and the EC assessed a record fine of €899 million ($1.3 billion). In May 2008, Microsoft filed an appeal with the European Court of First Instance, seeking to annul the fine.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on July 27, 2009 (boomark / email).